Weapon of Choice
by Doctor Addison Montgomery
Summary: Smithy/Kerry. Kerry and Smithy go undercover in a school as married teachers to bring down a knife smuggling ring that's been recruiting kids. Will all the time spent together make them realise their feelings for each other? Please review.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Weapon of Choice

_Summary: Smithy/Kerry. After uncovering a knife smuggling ring operating through a school in London, Kerry and Smithy go undercover as married teachers to try and bring down the criminal mastermind behind the scheme. Will spending so much time together and pretending to be married finally push Kerry and Smithy into admitting their feelings for each other?_

_Author's Note: This story was inspired by learning that Alex Walkinshaw (the actor who portrayed Smithy) will be starring on Waterloo Road as a teacher. This planted the idea of having Smithy and Kerry undercover at a school and falling in love along the way. Huge thanks goes to Amy (LightSpirit - read her stories!) who has been unbelievably helpful in getting this from an idea into an actual fanfic - thank you! :) I'm not sure how many chapters there will be as yet but I'll make sure to have another chapter ready to go so I don't end up leaving this unfinished like so many of my other stories._

_I don't even know if there are any other Kerry/Smithy fans out there anymore, but if there are I hope you like this and would be kind enough to review. xx_

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><p><span>Chapter 1 - Prologue<span>

Kerry Young watched the shops and buildings of central London pass by the window of the taxi, toying with the gold wedding band on her finger as she did so. They stopped at a set of traffic lights and the driver caught her eye in the mirror.

"Newlywed?" He questioned, and Kerry abruptly dropped her hands into her lap. The undercover operation she and Sergeant Dale Smith were taking part in didn't even start until tomorrow and already she had behaved suspiciously, in front of a taxi driver no less.

She just smiled and laughed nervously, hoping that they were nearly as the house which would serve as her home for as long as this operation took. She supposed she was glad that at least she wasn't doing this alone, that Smithy too would be cutting ties with his friends and family for an unknown period of time but part of her was apprehensive about spending time in such close quarters with him.

Finally the driver pulled up outside a modest two bedroom house in a suburban area and Kerry realised how perfectly ordinary it looked, just what they needed for their cover to seem legitimate.

"Thanks." She said, pushing a ten pound note in the driver's waiting hand. "Keep the change." She wanted him gone as quickly as possible. She pulled her wheeled suitcase and sports holdall out after her and gave the driver a brief wave.

Kerry took a closer look at the house as she made her way up the path which cut through a pretty lawn bordered with pink and white flowers. She dug her key out of the pocket of her jeans and let herself into the unfamiliar house. It was sparsely furnished but looked clean and homely, especially compared to her own untidy apartment. Leaving her bags in the hallway, Kerry used the time she had alone to explore the house a little.

Upstairs was a large bedroom overlooking the back garden, with a large double bed and en suite shower room. The second bedroom was smaller and set up as an at home office. She pushed the door to the main bathroom open and saw a huge claw footed tub with Jacuzzi jets. Even if the job was difficult and spending so much time with Smithy proved to be awkward, at least the house was lovely. She could definitely get used to living here.

After a tour of the spacious, minimalist living room and kitchen, Kerry took her bags upstairs and began to unpack. At the orders of her superiors, Kerry had bought some pictures from her own apartment, ornaments and other items to add a personal touch to her new abode. She finished unpacking her clothes, leaving half of the drawers and half of the cupboard space free for Smithy's belongings when he got there.

When everything was put away and organised the way she wanted it, Kerry closed the curtains, stepped out of her clothes and went to put the shower on. She almost moaned in pleasure when she stood underneath the spray, feeling the water massage the tightness in her neck and shoulders that she hadn't even noticed was there. She squeezed citrus scented shampoo onto her hair and rubbed it to a lather, leaning back against the shower stall wall and letting the water cascade down over her. With only washing herself to distract her, Kerry's thoughts couldn't help but circle back to how she had ended up in this situation in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2: Why

**Weapon of Choice**

Thanks for the reviews last chapter. I should point out before I continue that for the purpose of this story, Kerry and Smithy have never been intimately involved and are just friends who might have feelings for each other below the surface, at this point. Kerry is, however, in a casual relationship with Cameron. Most of this chapter is a flashback.

Thanks again to Amy for all the help and encouragement, and lots of brainstorming!

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><p><span>Chapter 2: Why<span>

"_PCs Young and Hemmingway responding." Kerry spoke into the police car radio as Yvonne swerved around the roundabout and back towards the direction they had come from. With her left hand, Kerry gripped onto the door handle, her knuckled whitening. She trusted Yvonne with her life and all her darkest secrets, but being passenger in a speeding police car was not always Kerry's idea of fun._

_They made it to St. Hugh's hospital in less than five minutes, possibly a personal record for Yvonne. When the car came to a stop and Kerry climbed out, it was a moment before her nausea passed off. Pushing aside her own personal feelings, she and Yvonne rushed inside the hospital towards the Intensive Care Unit. The two of them no longer needed to ask for directions, they had both visited the hospital more times than they could count while on the job._

_They took the stairs two at a time, Yvonne pulling out her notebook and flipping it open to a blank page as they walked. Kerry approached the nurses' desk with Yvonne hot on her heels._

"_PCs Young and Hemmingway." She introduced them. "We're here to see Kathryn Walker."_

_The nurse, a pretty woman in her late twenties with long black hair typed the name into the computer._

"_She's in bed 4, bay 5." The nurse told them and they hurried off. "Wait!" She called after them. "She's not in a good state, you'll be lucky if the doctor lets you talk to her."_

"_It's urgent." Kerry assured her but the nurse didn't look convinced._

_When they approached Kathryn's bed, a doctor was just pulling the curtains around it closed._

"_I'm sorry, Ms Walker needs rest and shouldn't be disturbed."_

"_This is an urgent police matter, sir, we need to talk to Kathryn immediately."_

_The doctor eyed them both for a few moments before finally responding. "Okay, one of you can talk to her, the other can come with me to get a cup of coffee and I'll explain the complexities of Ms Walker's case to you."_

_Kerry chose to talk to Kathryn while Yvonne accompanies Dr Cooper to the cafeteria. Sliding open the curtains, Kerry slipped inside and took the empty seat beside Kathryn's bed. The girl looked pale, light blonde hair spread across the pillow in a halo and green eyes barely open. Kerry felt an instant rush of sympathy for this girl who, by all accounts, was a smart, hardworking, kind young woman with plenty of friends._

"_Hi Kathryn, my name's PC Young but you can call me Kerry."_

_It took quite a bit of effort, but Kathryn finally manages to say 'Hello' back to Kerry. _

_"I'm sorry to be disturbing you now when __you need to rest but I won't take long, I promise. I just need to know what happened and who did this to you."_

_She saw tears forming in Kathryn's eyes and reached for the girl's hand, squeezing it tightly in her own. "It's okay sweetie," She encouraged. "Take as much time as you need. It's alright if you're scared."_

_"I was at school late because I'd have band practice, and I was waiting for my boyfriend to come and pick me up. I'd just been to the bathrooms and then I went outside to wait for Michael, when I saw two girls and three boys from my school year. They were talking and laughing but we didn't speak to each other. I heard one of them say 'I dare you' and then suddenly two of them had run over to me and they took my bag and when I tried to grab it back, they stabbed me." Kathryn was crying now, tears rolling down her pale cheeks._

_Kerry's heart broke for her. She must have been so scared. _

_"What happened after that?" Kerry asked, needing as many details as possible for when they made an arrest. _

"_I think I blacked out." Kathryn admitted. "I was bleeding a lot and I was in shock. I heard a girl laughing and screaming, but not because she was scared, it sounded like she was happy. The next thing I remember was my boyfriend Michael finding me and then waking up at the hospital."_

_Kerry took notes and nodded sympathetically. She had spend time with a lot of twisted, evil people during her time as a police constable but kids being so horrible to each other still shocked her. _

"_Can you think of any reason why they would choose you as their victim?" She asked._

_Kathryn shook her head. "I only barely knew them, they weren't in my circle of friends. I can't think of anything I could have said or done to upset them."_

_Kerry nodded again. If the attack of Kathryn was random it made it all seem even worse._

"_Can we stop now?" Kathryn asked. "I really don't feel very good." _

_She didn't look at all well, Kerry noticed. In fact, Kathryn looked worse than when Kerry had first arrived to question her. Fighting a surge of panic, she pressed the red help button by the bed and stood aside as nurses and doctors rushed over to Kathryn's bedside._

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><p>"<em>PC Young, a word with you in my office now, please." She heard the unmistakable voice of her sergeant ring out through the halls of the station three hours later. <em>

_Kerry felt her insides freeze and knew that she was in serious trouble. Taking a deep, calming breath she turned around and followed Smithy back down the corridor to his small office. He shut the door after them and leaning against it, glaring daggers at her out of his green eyes. _

"_Would you like to explain to me, Constable Young, why you have been AWOL for the last three hours and not responding to your radio or letting anyone know where you were." It was a rhetorical question, Kerry knew but she really didn't feel like explaining herself, especially not to him._

"_I'm sorry serge," She said, eyes firmly fixed on the floor. "It won't happen again."_

"_No, it bloody well won't." She was surprised at the anger in his voice. "Do you know how worried we were? You could have been anywhere, with anyone! For all we knew you could have been dead!"_

_Kerry realised she had mistaken his concern for anger, but was still shocked at the intensity of his emotion. _

"_I'm sorry." She repeated, uselessly, feeling tears well up in her eyes again._

"_Hey Kerry, don't cry." He said, leaving his post at the door and crossing the office to where she stood. _

_She looked away from him again, wiping at her tears with the sleeve of her uniform. _

"_What's wrong?" His voice was gentler now but it only made her want to cry more._

"_The stabbing Yvonne and I were investigating," Kerry began. "The victim, she was only sixteen, a really nice kid with a good life and a sweet boyfriend, and she died. It was so stupid and pointless. These kids at her school just thought it would be fun to steal her bag and stab her. She died from her injuries just minutes after I spoke to her."_

_She was sobbing now, tears sliding down her cheeks and her chest heaving with sobs. Feeling a little awkward, Smithy took her in his harms and held her tightly until her crying began to cease. She extracted herself from his embrace, a flush rising to her cheeks. _

"_I'm sorry for falling apart on you."_

_To her surprise, he smiled. "It's okay, but stop apologising. You care and that's a good thing, but next time please let someone know where you are so we don't have a heart attack."_

"_Yes, sir." Kerry said, composing herself and showing herself out of the office. Kathryn may be dead but Kerry was determined to bring down the people who had brought about her death no matter what it took._

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><p><em>Two weeks after Kathryn's death and Kerry was still digging into the case, researching everything she could about knife crime and St John's School but she had only found small titbits of information. It was frustrating but she refused to give up. Her colleagues had already told her it was pointless and that Kathryn's death would just be another one of the many unsolved cases remaining in storage. There were plenty of new cases coming in every day too, but Kerry still made time to do a little research. She even cancelled dates with Cameron to spend time working. Finally, she found what she was looking for and, dashing up from the computer, she all but ran to locate Sergeant Smith.<em>

"_Serge?" She was breathless by the time she reached his office. He looked up from his desk with a startled expression when he saw her._

"_Is something wrong Kerry?" _

"_No, not at all." Without waiting to be invited in, she walked into the office and set the piece of paper, still warm from the laser jet printer on the table in front of him._

"_What's this?" _

"_Read it, serge." She urged. _

_He read it once, twice but still couldn't see what she was getting at. She tapped the paper._

"_Look, one of the major weapons smugglers who CID have been tracking, his daughter goes to the same school as Kathryn Walker. It says right here that Black often deals in knives."_

_Smithy was nodding slowly but Kerry could see that he wasn't completely convinced. "Kerry, are you sure you're not just seeing this connection but it is what you want to see?"_

"_No, definitely not. Everything checks out. Even one of the boys in Kathryn's class has been arrested for possession of a knife. Jasmine Black was in six of Kathryn's classes at school. This is not a coincidence, Smithy."_

"_Okay," He said, slowly. "I'll take this to Okaru and I'll get his opinion on this." He paused. "I have to say, I'm impressed with the work you've put into this. You have my support."_

"_Thank you, Smithy." She smiled, his reaction had been much more positive than Cameron's when he had found out what she was spending all of her free time doing. "Please let me know what the Super says."_

"_You'll be the first person I tell." He smiled._

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><p>Kerry noticed that the hot water was beginning to cool off now and she rinsed the remaining soap from her body. Wrapped in a thick, white bath towel, she mused on how from that one small connection the case had been broken open and now she and Smithy were on their way to bringing down the corrupt, evil Black family.<p>

She was in the bedroom in her underwear, towelling her hair dry when she heard a key in the door downstairs. Hastily throwing on a vest top and clean jeans, Kerry went downstairs to meet her new husband.


	3. Chapter 3: The First Night

**Weapon of Choice**  
><strong>Chapter 2: The First Night<strong>

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><p>Dale Smith locked the door behind him and looked around the house, which would be his home for the foreseeable future, in much the same way as Kerry had. He looked up and saw her coming down the stairs towards him. He couldn't help it, a smile came to his lips before he was able to stop it.<p>

"Hi, Mrs Jones." He greeted her, with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Hello, husband." She replied, taking note of the matching gold band on Smithy's ring finger.

"Nice place." He commented, looking around a little more. Kerry nodded her agreement and went to explore the kitchen, she was dying for a cup of tea or perhaps something stronger. She opened the fridge to find that it was about half full with fresh produce; meat, salad, vegetables, butter, milk and cheese. On the top shelf she spotted a bottle of champagne with a note attached.

'Mr and Mrs Jones, congratulations on your new home.'

The note was left unsigned and Kerry smiled as she took the bottle from the fridge and set it on the kitchen table. She was searching the well stocked cupboards and cabinets for wine glasses when Smithy came back into the room.

"Champagne? Nice." He smiled, picking up the bottle and studying the label. "I'm not very good at this." He admitted as he attempted to uncork the champagne.

Kerry let out a little shriek as the cork leapt from the bottle, flying across the width of the kitchen. They were laughing as Smithy filled their glasses with the bubbling wine. They clinked their glasses together and sipped from them, taking their drinks through to the living area with them. The sofa was a plush, deep purple velvet and Kerry sat down, feeling herself sinking into the soft material.

"This is all a little weird for me," Kerry confessed when Smithy was seated in the arm chair just across from her. Both pieces of furniture were angled so that they faced the television, Kerry noticed that it was bigger than the one she had at home. She wasn't sure what she had expected when she had volunteered to leave her life behind and go undercover, but she hadn't expected a house quite so lovely as this, not on the metropolitan police budget. Clearly they were as passionate about bringing the weapons smuggling ring to justice as she was.

"Me too." Smithy admitted, he'd had his doubts about joining Kerry on this mission, but their bosses had wanted someone of a higher rank to supervise and he would rather know that she was safe, than having to worry about someone else protecting her.

"Leaving everything behind, even my name. It's strange. It doesn't feel right." She looked down into her glass where the champagne was bubbling gently. "I feel like I'm living a lie and we haven't even started yet."

"But it will all be worthwhile, when we bring down those bastards who killed Kathryn." Smithy reminded her.

"I know!" Kerry snapped, setting her glass down on the coffee table with more force than was really necessary. She walked across the room, locating the remote controls for the television on the glass shelf beneath the set. She turned on the TV, hoping that it would provide a distraction and ease the atmosphere that had just become particularly awkward. A quiz show was just ending when Kerry sat back down, and they watched the last few minutes of it in a silence that wasn't exactly friendly, but wasn't hostile either. When the quiz show came to an end, the news followed. Kerry found herself drifting out of what was being said, concentrating on sipping champagne and letting the bubbles dissolve against her tongue. However, when she heard the words 'stabbing' and 'knife', she sat bolt upright and scrabbled for the remote control to turn up the volume.

"Another one," Kerry sighed, tossing the television control aside. It wasn't usual for her to be so down and dejected, but the short time she had known Kathryn had deeply affected her. It was such a senseless waste of her life, and Kerry was still as determined as ever to avenge the young teenage girl's life.

Smithy looked across at her sympathetically, he was perhaps the only one who knew how much Kerry really cared about this case. "I promise you," He said. "That we will do everything possible to make sure that the Black family don't cause any more deaths."

She managed a small smile. "Thanks, Smithy."

"If we're going to be married, you had probably better start calling me 'Dale'...or 'darling'." He added playfully, hoping to bring her out of the funk she had been wading through lately. He missed the bright, bubbly, quick with a smile, Kerry Young.

"Don't push your luck." Kerry grinned back, the ice broken again. "I think I'm going to head up to bed, I want to be alert in the morning."

"That'll be a first." Smithy quipped, picking up their now empty wine glasses and carrying them through to the kitchen. "I'll meet you up there."

Kerry nodded, padded up the carpeted stairs to the bedroom, where the first of many obstacles greeted them.

* * *

><p>Smithy put the used glasses into the dishwasher and looked out of the window into the darkened back garden. It was a really nice house, in a prime location and Smithy felt weirdly like he belonged there. He hadn't felt like that in a very long time. He wondered if Kerry had anything to do with that feeling but he hastily pushed it aside, she was with Cameron and this was working, nothing more. With one last look outside, Smithy shut the kitchen blinds and went upstairs.<p>

Kerry was already in her pyjamas and brushing her teeth at the sink in their ensuite bathroom when Smithy arrived in the bedroom.

"Um," He cleared his throat, the bed suddenly looked a lot narrower than it had earlier. This was going to be awkward, for sure, but Smithy really didn't fancy sleeping on the sofa the night before the first day on the job. Five years ago he wouldn't have minded, but he wasn't getting a younger and he didn't want to turn up at school with an aching back and neck tomorrow morning.

Kerry came back out of the bedroom. "I guess I could sleep on the sofa..." She offered.

"We should probably..." He swallowed. "Sleep in the same bed. What if, I don't know, someone manages to hack into the security cameras in here. We need to make this look as legitimate as possible." He paused again. "But if it's a problem for you...because of Cameron, I'll sleep downstairs instead."

"Because of Cameron?" Kerry asked, and Smithy was surprised to see a hint of amusement in her blue eyes.

Smithy blushed a little now, concentrating on locating a pair of pyjamas so he wouldn't have to look at her. When they were at work together he could be calm and professional with her, but here, like this, it was a completely different matter. "I saw you at the Canley Arms last week, you looked...cosy."

"It's nothing serious." She confirmed but it wasn't the whole truth. Cameron had been less than happy about her taking on the undercover operation but he had known better to try and convince her otherwise, it was the appointment of Smithy as her undercover husband that had made him less than supportive. "We can share the bed," She eventually said. "But keep your hands to yourself!"

Smithy help up his hands in mock defence. "Yes, ma'am."

He went into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed, then came back and slipped under the covers beside Kerry. He had expected it to feel strange, lying next to her like this but it actually wasn't. It wasn't a bad feeling at all, one he could feel himself getting used to during the operation.


	4. Chapter 4: The First Morning

**Weapon of Choice  
><strong>**Chapter 4: The First Morning**

_**Thanks for the reviews, I hope you're enjoying this story!**_

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><p>Kerry had expected that she wouldn't sleep well at all that night, especially not with Smithy beside her in the unfamiliar bed. She was surprised to find that the first time she woke up was when the alarm clock went off at six o'clock the following morning. She yawned, stretched and regretfully climbed out of the bed. Smithy groaned sleepily beside her and she decided to let him be, setting the alarm for another ten minutes.<p>

Putting on her slippers and a light dressing down, Kerry went down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. While she waited for the kettle to boil, she opened the kitchen blinds and looked outside. It was still quite dark but as she pottered around the kitchen looking for cereal and milk, the sun began its slow rise.

Kerry was stacking her empty cereal bowl and spoon in the dishwasher when she heard Smithy coming down the stairs.

"Morning." She smiled, pressing the button on the kettle to re-boil the water for Smithy's coffee. She idly wondered how he would manage throughout the entire undercover operation without his beloved West Ham football club mug.

"Morning." He replied, feeling less at ease than he had the night before. It wasn't really because of Kerry, it was more because of the nerves he felt at the prospect of their first day at school, undercover. Of course, he didn't tell Kerry this. He was her superior officer and he wanted his presence to be a reassuring one.

While Smithy had his breakfast, Kerry went back up to the bedroom to wash and dress in the clothes she had picked out especially for the operation. Nothing she had already owned seemed to suitable for a teacher's assistant.

Smithy whistled when he came upstairs to see Kerry dressed in a skirt suit of black pinstriped material. He had never seen her dressed in anything like this before.

"Is it too over the top?" Kerry asked, tugging at the jacket which she wore over a long sleeved white shirt.

"Not at all, you look great." He replied, meaning it.

Kerry smiled at the compliment, but couldn't help but be a little jealous when she realised that, as the new PE teacher, Smithy could get away with wearing a tracksuit and trainers while she would no doubt get blisters from her new high heeled shoes.

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><p>At quarter past eight they were both ready to leave to walk the short distance to the school. Nerves were beginning to bubble in Kerry's stomach as they got nearer and nearer to the school, and she tried hard to keep her composure in check. The last thing she wanted was for her anxieties and apprehension to ruin the operation before it had ever really begun. Smithy seemed to pick up on her uncertainty.<p>

"Are you alright?" He asked, gently, expecting a fiery response but Kerry simply nodded and gritted her teeth together.

They finally rounded the last corner and the school was standing there before them. There were very few students around as Kerry and Smithy had been asked to arrive early to meet with the Headmaster. The Headmaster was the only other person at the school who knew of Kerry and Smithy's true identity. It had not taken very long for their superior officers to convince the Head to allow two police officers to go undercover at his school. He had been shocked and appalled to know what was happening under his nose and Kathryn Walker's death had been a great loss to him.

Kerry and Smithy approached the reception desk and a pretty young woman looked at them expectantly.

"Mr and Mrs Jones to see Headmaster Edwards." Smithy said.

"Oh, the new teachers!" She beamed, phoning through to the Headmaster's office. Smithy surreptitiously rolled his eyes at Kerry, who tried not to grin. Even though she was nervous, Smithy had a way of reassuring her and making her forget about what was bothering her, almost like a real husband would. That thought shocked her and she was very grateful when the receptionist pointed them in the direction of Mr Edwards' office.

"Have a great first day!" She called after them.

Derek Edwards was pacing the length of his office when Smithy tapped lightly on the door with his knuckles.

"Come in!" He called, and Kerry followed Smithy inside.

"Ah, Dale, Kerry, nice to see you." He shook hands with both of them. They exchange pleasantries and took seats around Mr Edwards' desk. He handed them an envelope each which contained a map of the school campus, a timetable and a list of general instructions. "Kerry, you will be supervising Joe Harrison's English classes, offering any assistance that is needed." She nodded, and he turned his attention to Smithy. "Dale, you will be in charge of football coaching and helping to supervise the PE department." He nodded, also. "Any questions?"

Kerry looked at Smithy, who shrugged. Both of them really wanted to begin the day, the sooner they started the sooner the Black family would be permanently out of business.

They left the Headmaster's office together, stepping out into the corridor and consulting their maps. The English department and the sports facilities were in completely opposite directions. Kerry sighed, but perhaps if they had been forced to spend all their time together, both at school and home, they wouldn't be able to successfully make it seem like they were a loving married couple.

"See you later, love." Smithy said, aware that a few people were beginning to fill the hallways.

"Have a good day, Dale." She replied, and they kissed awkwardly, just the briefest touches of their lips. It was over in a second, and Kerry hoped it had looked believable. She tried to write off the increased thump of her heart rate as nerves about going to her first class, but she wasn't entirely sure that it was just because of that.

She watched for a moment as Smithy walked down the corridor, becoming smaller and smaller until he disappeared into a group of sixth formers. She turned around and made her way to the classroom where Mr Harrison's English lessons took place.


	5. Chapter 5: Her Mr Darcy

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 5: Her Mr Darcy<span>

_Thanks so much for the reviews! It's good to know you're enjoying the story. I hope you like this one! Kerry's love of 'Pride and Prejudice' was inspired by Amy (LightSpirit) telling me that Beth Cordingly had written a short story about Sense and Sensibility (also by Jane Austen) for an anthology._

_I don't own The Bill or any of the characters. Joe and Jasmine are original characters. Any mistakes are my own._

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><p>Without Smithy beside her, Kerry felt some of her anxiety and apprehension return as she made her way along the corridor to Mr Harrison's English class. When she arrived at the door, she peeked through the glass panel to gauge how large the groups of students would be. She loved to read, sometimes she even did some creative writing, but other than that she wasn't really qualified to be an English teaching assistant.<p>

She was surprised to see that the classroom was empty, chairs stacked on most of the desk, then realised that most of the pupils would still be in registration. She could hear voices though, one deep and male, the other girlish. She stood back so that she wouldn't be seen, and listened instead. It might be pertinent to the case, after all.

"Jasmine, no, we can't. I can't. Your dad...if your dad knows we're still..."

"Oh, he knows." The girl replied, and Kerry could hear the smirk in her voice. She already disliked this girl. She hadn't even seen her face to face yet but already Kerry had her suspicions that Jasmine Black was capable of murder. If it had been Jasmine who had stabbed Kathryn, it fitted with the statement the girl had made on her deathbed. "He knows Joe, but he doesn't care as long as you keep helping us out." Jasmine continued.

"Jasmine..." He stopped and Kerry strained to hear more but she didn't catch anything else until Joe forcefully said: "No, not here. Not now, I have a class." As he said this, his voice became louder; nearer and Kerry shot back from the door, just in time too as Joe's face appeared in the glass panel in the door. "I'll talk to you later." He told Jasmine, signalling that the conversation was over.

"Yeah, you will." She replied, striding out of the classroom and passed Kerry without giving her a second glance.

Feeling an expected burst of rage, Kerry was able to forget her anxiety and was more determined than ever to bring down the Black's and anyone connected to them. She stepped forward, offering her hand to Joe, who didn't seem to have noticed her at all. He blinked several times, then took her outstretched hand and shook it.

"Kerry Jones," She introduced, the unfamiliar name slipping off her tongue more easily now. "Your new teaching assistant." She added, when Joe's expression still looked blank.

Aside from the vacant look in his light blue eyes, Kerry had to admit that he was quite an attractive man. He looked to be somewhere between her age and Smithy's, with fair skin, closely cropped dark hair and broad shoulders.

Absorbing Kerry's words, Joe shook off the stupor he seemed to be in and smiled at her.

"Pleased to meet you, Kerry. I've been in need of a TA for over a month now since my previous one left for maternity leave." He motioned for Kerry to follow him into the classroom. She spotted a stack of books, some more tattered than others, on his desk. She stepped closer.

"Oh," She exclaimed. "Pride and Prejudice is my favourite book."

"Really?" Joe asked, a smile making his blue eyes crinkle. "That's good to know. The students in my first period class are starting work on their coursework, so it would be great if you could help them out."

Kerry nodded, relieved that her first lesson wouldn't be as daunting as she had feared. She took a copy of the book from Joe, wondering how Smithy was getting on.

* * *

><p>Jasmine Black walked from the English room straight to the sports field. PE was optional for a lower sixth former like herself, but she enjoyed it. It gave her a kick to see Joe's face when she wore her shortest football shorts, too. He had been so easy to manipulate from the get go and now he was in love with her, or whatever. It didn't matter as long as he did what she wanted him to. Recruiting teenagers was one thing but they needed adults too, especially ones they could manipulate. Jasmine smiled to herself, Joe wouldn't be foolish to break away from her now, not if he valued his life and his career.<p>

When she arrived at the football field she saw that the lesson was already in progress. A group of boys and girls from her year were gathered around a man she did not recognise.

"Better late than never." She heard a cheeky cockney accent call out. She looked up into warm green eyes and was intrigued.

"Who're you?" She asked, frowning as she surreptitiously took notice of his physique, long lean legs and a broad chest.

"Mr Jones, new PE teacher." He replied, less than impressed with her rudeness and trying to forget the fact that he had had an equal lack of respect for his own teachers.

"Oh, right. Hi." She replied, making an exaggerated gesture of throwing back her long brown hair and typing it up. The morning sun glinted off the wedding band on his finger and her eyes narrowed.

"And you would be?"

"Jasmine Black."

Smithy nodded, green eyes unreadable. It was hard for him to hide the animosity as he faced one of the major culprits in the death of Kathryn Walker. He asked her to join in with the rest of the group, aware of her eyes following him as they began to practice their football skills.

* * *

><p>By break time, Smithy felt quite exhausted having followed Jasmine's class with a group of very exuberant year seven pupils. It was more tiring than a usual Monday morning at the station, he was sure of that. Only getting lost once, he went into the staff room to see Kerry sipping coffee from a paper cup and chatting amiably with a tall dark haired man. He felt a rush of jealousy until he reminded himself that she wasn't really his wife and could talk to any man she liked. It still didn't stop him from going over to them, picking up a few biscuits on the way. Kerry paused her animated conversation with Joe and turned to smile at Smithy.<p>

"Joe, this is Dale, my husband and the new football teacher. Dale, this is Joe Harrison, I'm assisting his English classes."

Smithy and Joe shook hands. "So this is your Mr Darcy?" He asked, and Kerry found herself blushing.

"I suppose so." For Smithy's benefit, she added. "Joe's Year 10 class are studying Pride and Prejudice."

Smithy nodded. "Your favourite book."

She tried not to look as surprised as she felt, her gaze lingering on him while he engaged Joe in a conversation about football and which team he supported.


	6. Chapter 6: Not Alone

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 6: Not Alone<span>

_Thanks so much for the reviews on the previous chapter, it really means a lot! Sorry for not updating in a little while, I had some exam stress going on but I'm on a study break now so should be writing and posting more often. I hope you like this chapter, more drama will be occurring soon! Reviews are loved! xx_

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><p>The rest of the day, after their earlier run ins with Jasmine Black, passed by without incident for both of them. Kerry could not help but feel a little disappointed. When she had overheard Jasmine and Joe's conversation earlier that morning, she had really thought that she was onto something. Of course, she knew it would take time, effort and patience to bring the Black's down but this was a collar that she wanted really badly. She didn't want it for herself, but for Kathryn Walker and her grieving parents. The shell shocked faces of Laura and John Walker a their daughter's funeral still haunted Kerry. She had attended that day in plain clothes and a subtle black hat so that if any members of Black family or pupils and teachers from Kathryn's school were in attendance they would not recognise her later nor associate her with the police presence at the funeral. Her superiors had warned against her attendance, but Kerry had been adamant that she would go, and Smithy had vouched for her. She hadn't told him how thankful she was for his support, but she had an inkling that he already knew. If their roles had been reversed, she would have done the same thing for him.<p>

The end of the afternoon couldn't come quick enough for Kerry now that she had ascertained that they were going to learn nothing more of use to the case. After what had begun as a promising day, Kerry was tired, irritable and her feet ached from her high heeled shoes. She watched Smithy walked towards her down the corridor once the bell sounded to signify the end of the school day. He was grinning at her, looking as though he had enjoyed his day a lot more than she had. She felt something then, a brief jolt that vanished almost as quickly as it had arrived, and found herself smiling back at him. Not for the first time, and not for the last either, Kerry was glad that she wasn't doing this alone. They walked out of the school building together, making their way towards their temporary home. The streets were busier than when they had walked them early that morning. Groups of teenagers were making their way home, waiting for buses and a few boys were kicking a football around the square of grass opposite the school.

Kerry and Smithy walked in silence, wanting to wait until they were back at the house before they started to compare notes on their first day. The further they got from the school, the emptier the streets became again. They stopped at the local corner shop to buy more milk and ready meals for their dinner. When they exited with their purchases in plastic bags, Kerry saw a familiar face. Jasmine Black was outside with a boy and a girl of a similar age to her, sitting on a low wall and swinging her legs. The smell of tobacco permeated the air. Kerry wasn't sure what to do. On the one hand smoking was against the school rules and illegal, but they weren't at school and reprimanding Jasmine for smoking would definitely not help them to get the girl to open up to them. Kerry exchanged a look with Smithy who was already approached the trio of teenagers. Kerry followed, if a little hesitantly and watched as Jasmine took another drag on the cigarette and lazily stubbed it out on the stone wall.

She smiled as Smithy approached but it did not reach her cold eyes. Kerry suppressed a shiver, feeling ridiculous because Jasmine was just a teenager girl, wasn't she? Kerry still could not shake the feeling that Jasmine Black was capable of anything she put her mind to.

"Mr Jones." She smiled, releasing the cigarette butt from her fingers and letting it slowly drop to the ground.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that." Smithy said, inflecting warmth into his voice and pasting a cheeky grin onto his face. To Jasmine and anyone else who didn't know him it probably looked genuinely, but Kerry could see the strain around his eyes.

"See what?" The male friend of Jasmine's asked, making the other girl snicker.

Smithy ignored them both, focusing on Jasmine solely instead.

"You showed a lot of promise on the football field today Jasmine, I'd hate to see you throw it away because you're filling your lungs with smoke."

Jasmine looked as though she was genuinely surprised for a moment or two, but the look soon faded from her face. "Yes sir." She replied, with a mock salute.

Smithy turned away, and Kerry smiled warmly at him, more glad than ever that he was the one accompanying her on this operation.

* * *

><p>On their way up the path to the front door, the next door neighbour greeted them. Kerry and Smithy politely fed her titbits of their cover story and she seemed pleased to have a nice, young married couple living next to her.<p>

"Don't you feel bad feeding all these lies to people?" Kerry asked, turning on the oven while Smithy poured cola into two tall glasses.

He shrugged in response. "If it helps to maintain our cover then I'm okay with it."

Kerry could see the logic of his view but lying didn't come easily to her. Whenever she did try to lie, something usually went wrong and backfired on her. Her first day at Sun Hill had been a prime example of that.

They sat across from each other and ate their dinner whilst discussing what they had learned that day. Smithy was particularly interested in what Kerry had overheard between Jasmine and Joe. After dinner they cleared away the plates and glasses, changed out of their work clothes and set up the laptop on the kitchen table. Seven o'clock soon came around, time for their first check in with their superior officers at Sun Hill.


	7. Chapter 7: 7 O'Clock Briefing

Weapon of Choice

Chapter 7: 7 O'clock Briefing

_Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter. I hope you like this one, too! Reviews are always appreciated. :) xx_

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><p>Kerry and Smithy exchanged a look and he nodded slightly at her as their laptop connected with the web cam at the station. After a few moments of static, they came face to face with DCI Jack Meadows' face on the screen before them. Both of them were a little surprised to see that he was alone.<p>

"Good evening." He greeted formally, to which Kerry and Smithy replied with 'good evening, sir's.

"How was your first day?" He asked, with the trace of a smile now; a hopeful one. This case was important to him too, just for slightly different reasons. Two of his officers would be away from their usual duties for an indeterminable amount of time, and his force was already stretched far enough. He was a eager for a quick resolution.

"Both of us have met and become acquainted with Jasmine Black. Smithy taught her football this morning and I overheard a conversation between her and the English teacher Mr Harrison." Kerry re-told the story of what she had heard pass between them. Jack did not seem to be as interested in this piece of information as Smithy had been.

"That's interesting, but it doesn't prove anything."

Kerry and Smithy exchanged looks of surprise and barely concealed outrage. "But sir!"

"What we need is evidence. I know it is only day one but it is imperative that you get them to trust you, to open up to you."

Kerry huffed out a breath. So far she wasn't finding this briefing helpful at all, she had yet to learn anything that she didn't already know or hadn't been told before. She could sense that Smithy was also frustrated at the lack of information coming from Meadows' end of the conversation, he was just doing a better job at hiding it.

"I do have an idea," Smithy began, engaging both Kerry and Jack's interest. "If we assume that Jasmine Black is having an affair with Joe Harrison, and it seems that she is the dominating force in the relationship, it could be that she may move onto someone similar. Especially if Joe begins to get cold feet."

"What are you suggesting?" Jack replied, before Kerry could even get her lips to form words.

"Perhaps if I were to spend time getting closer to Jasmine she might open up to me and let me in on whatever her father is up to."

Kerry was surprised and disappointed to see that Jack was not wearing the same facial expression as her. What Smithy was proposing was risky for more than one reason. If Jasmine was capable of the murder of Kathryn Walker, it was unlikely that she would have reservations about harming Smithy. On a more practical note, she and Smithy had been introduced to the school as husband and wife, and it seemed strange to Kerry that a happily married man would be seeking the attentions of a teenage girl. From what she had gleaned from researching Joe Harrison, he appeared to be single and a couple of years younger than Smithy.

"It's an idea." Meadows allowed. "Just try to be friendly to her, encourage her in your lessons and see what happens from there."

"I don't like this." Kerry piped up. Her willingness to bring the Black's to justice and to find closure for Kathryn's parents meant that it was important to her that this operation was carried out with as few holes as possible.

Meadows ignored her reservations. "Kerry, if you could form a friendship with Joe that might make him open up to you about what's going on. If he's not forthcoming, you can always play the wildcard of knowing about his affair with Jasmine."

She did agree with this idea and she was in the prime place to form a bond with Joe seeing as they shared a classroom for six hours a day.

"You seem to be making a fairly solid start," Meadows said, looking more relaxed than when they had started the web chat. "I'll check in with you at the same time on Wednesday to check your progress. Good night."

Kerry and Smithy said goodnight and cancelled the conversation, shutting the laptop screen and looking intently at each other.

"Why didn't you tell me about your idea to seduce Jasmine before telling our superior?" Kerry almost exploded, her voice raising as the words tumbled out.

"I'm not planning to seduce her, Kerry, she's a girl. I just meant getting close to her might be beneficial."

Kerry glared at him, not pacified by his words in the slightest. "I don't like it, Dale. She's a piece of work, that girl and I don't like the idea of you getting sucked in."

"Are you jealous, Kerry?" He attempted to lighten the atmosphere between them that was rapidly deteriorating. His green eyes sparkled with humour but a smile did not touch her bright blue ones.

She waited a moment before she replied. "Damn it, Smithy! This is dangerous, I thought you realised this. Joe is being forced into doing God knows what for Black because he was sleeping with her daughter. I don't want Black to target you too. Please don't make this more complicated." Her voice began to soften again., she placed her hand over his on the kitchen tabletop. "I care about you Smithy, and I appreciate you sticking up for me and supporting me on this investigation, but I don't want to have to worry about you too."

Smithy looked down at their hands, the memory of pressing his lips of her's in the school corridor that morning rose to his thoughts without warning. He gently moved their hands apart.

"I know what I'm doing Kerry, and I won't take any more risks than necessary." He laughed a little. "I really thought I'd be the one having this conversation with you!"

She managed a small smile. "Remember, it's only the first day."

* * *

><p>A while later, Kerry and Smithy found themselves together in the living room. Smithy watched with interest as Kerry slid the back off of her phone and took out the sim card, replacing it with another.<p>

"What are you doing?" He asked, his brow furrowed.

She looked up, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. "I'm about to call Cameron."

"Oh," He replied, wishing he hadn't bothered to ask. He did, however, want to ask if she thought using her phone from her 'real life' was a sensible move. "I'll give you some privacy." Was what he chose to say, leaving the room and closing the door after him. He felt a bitter pang low in his abdomen, a feeling which he refused to identify as jealousy. As he kept reminding himself, Kerry was not his wife, not even his girlfriend. It was essential that he kept the case and their personal lives separate.

Feeling frustrated and a loose end, Smithy poured himself a drink of water and stood looking out over the darkened garden again. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Kerry come out into the kitchen until he heard the kettle start to boil.

"Everything alright?" He asked, though he realised that he didn't really want to know.

"Fine, thanks." She smiled weakly, heaping two spoonfuls of hot chocolate powder into a large mug.

Smithy leaned against the kitchen counter. "You can tell me if you want," He paused, his trademark cheeky smile tugging at his feature. "We are married, after all."

Kerry smiled again at this, but it was as weak as before. "It's Cameron," She explained. "He's still not happy about me doing this, or." She stopped abruptly, concentrating in pouring hot water into her mug.

"Or, what?" Smithy asked, intrigued.

She gave a short laugh but refused to face him; to meet his gaze. "He doesn't trust me alone with you."

"Well, I know I'm charming and irresistible, but he doesn't have anything to worry about." He had meant it to be a statement, but it came out sounding more like a question.

"Of course not." She replied, grateful when Smithy left the room. She couldn't help but wonder if Cameron had a point though, and if that was why she was so upset by their conversation.


	8. Chapter 8: Leverage and Lust

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 8: Leverage and Lust<span>

_Thanks for the reviews! It means a lot. Hope you like this chapter, and please leave a review on your way out! xxx_

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><p>When Kerry went up to bed, Smithy was already asleep or so it seemed. She undressed quickly and quietly, and slipped under the covers next to him. Sleep didn't come easily for Kerry though; she spent the majority of the night and the early hours of the morning staring, wide awake, at the ceiling. Her bout of insomnia meant that Kerry was free to dwell on subjects that she would rather not think about. She kept replaying her telephone conversation with Cameron over and over in her head on a continuous loop. He was clearly still unhappy about the arrangement and all it was doing was succeeding in pushing her further from him. She wondered if she should have ended their fling before she had gone undercover, maybe it would have been kinder to both of them. But without her ties to Cameron would her faux marriage to Smithy develop into something real? She didn't want to think about that too hard either. She had a job to do and the case was her priority; finding justice for Kathryn Walker was her one and only goal. Kerry finally fell asleep plotting ways to get Joe to open up to her.<p>

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><p>Smithy was the first of them to wake the next morning, and he looked over at Kerry's sleeping form for a few seconds before he made a move to get out of bed. Had he really told her the truth the night before when he had said that Cameron had nothing to worry about and implying that he had no romantic feelings for Kerry at all? He had always liked Kerry both as a person and a copper, but spending so much time with her and pretending to be married to her was making him wonder if there was more to their friendship. If he was developing feelings for her, it would have to wait until the undercover operation was over because he knew that nothing was more important to Kerry right now than solving the case.<p>

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><p>By the time the alarm clock woke Kerry up there was a cup of coffee on her bedside table and the sounds of water running and out of tune singing coming from the bathroom. In spite of herself, and the lack of sleep, Kerry smiled. Cameron might not agree, but Kerry knew she was lucky to have been paired with Smithy. There were few other officers she would feel as safe with, especially when the operation kicked up a gear and perhaps became dangerous. She was prepared for when that happened, and she trusted Smithy to back her up implicitly.<p>

"Thanks for the coffee." She said a few minutes later when Smithy emerged from the ensuite bathroom wrapped in a navy robe and towelling his hair dry.

He smiled, feeling a little overwhelmed at the domesticity of the arrangement. How quickly it seemed that they had settled into their pretend life as a married couple. Smithy thought he had been perfectly happy being a single bachelor, occasionally having casual sexual relationships with women but he quite enjoyed having someone to fall asleep next to at night and wake up with in the mornings. Perhaps it was just because Kerry was the only familiar part of this new life he inhabited.

"You're welcome." He replied, quite relieved when she went through to the bathroom leaving him alone with his thoughts. Focus, he told himself, he wasn't ever going to have a chance with her if he blew the operation that was so close to her heart. Anyway, today was the beginning of his scheme to get Jasmine to bring him into Black's circle.

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><p>Kerry and Smithy walked to the school in relative silence, realising that some of the students they passed were familiar whereas the day before they had been complete strangers. Kerry had opted to wear ballet pumps after the discomfort of the heels she had worn the day before. She still envied Smithy's casual attire, but while he was outside coaching the boys and girls to play football at least she would be inside a warm classroom with a book. She was a little concerned about Smithy's latest strategy to get close to Jasmine but there was no point worrying about it yet, especially if it provided a fruitful lead. She wondered if Jasmine would be in any of her classes today, it would definitely be interesting to see how the teenage girl interacted with Joe when she was in a lesson with him. Perhaps Jasmine's behaviour might provide Kerry was a legitimate excuse to question Joe about the two of them and about the Black family. She had yet to mention Kathryn Walker to Joe and she wondered how long she could keep that ace up her sleeve before she showed her hand. Did Joe know or suspects that his teenage paramour was in fact at least partly responsible the death of one of his students?<p>

Smithy and Kerry parted, arranging to meet at his office in the sports department at break time. They both hoped that they would have information to share by that point. It was easier for it to be just the two of the sharing their break than putting on a front and keeping to their cover story in front of the rest of the staff. Kerry strode straight to Joe's English classroom, not bothering to knock and secretly hoping that he was having another clandestine conversation with Jasmine before class. She was disappointed to find him alone, distributing copies of Jane Eyre onto each desk.

"Morning," She greeted, stepping into the classroom and shutting the door behind her. He looked up suddenly, almost dropping the book in his hand. There was a flash of panic in his eyes before he realised who it was. Feeling himself relax, Joe smiled and returned Kerry's greeting.

"Another favourite of yours?" He asked conversationally, trying to gloss over the moment of awkwardness when he had mistaken her for someone else.

"Yes, actually." Kerry smiled, absentmindedly picking up a copy of the classic novel and turning it over.

Joe smiled back, and it seemed to Kerry that it was genuine. She couldn't help wondering how a seemingly nice guy like Joe Harrison could be so easily sucked in by someone like Jasmine Black and her family. But she had seen it before in her job, innocent people getting in over their heads without knowing the way out. As yet she didn't know quite how involved Joe was but she hoped, for his sake, that he would come through his association with the Blacks unscathed.


	9. Chapter 9: Scheming and Secrets

Weapon of Choice  
>Chapter 9: Scheming and Secrets<p>

_Thanks, as always, to Amy and Tasha for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter. xx_

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><p>Alone in his office in the PE department, Smithy studied his timetable for the day. His lesson with Jasmine's class was just before lunch. At least this gave him a little more time to prepare. The idea of get close to Jasmine; to make her feel that she had got under his skin had come as a flash of inspiration but now he was beginning to wonder if it was a seriously bad suggestion on his part. He had seen the look of reservation in Kerry's eyes when he had told her and Meadows about it over the video link the previous evening. At the time it had seemed to be the perfect solution but, as much as he hated to admit to even himself, the teenager intimidated him. She was barely seventeen yet she was the prime suspect in the random coldblooded murder of a fellow student. He had to suppress the shudder that snaked its way down his spine when he considered what else Jasmine might be capable of. He worried that Kerry wasn't taking Jasmine's apparent psychopathy seriously enough, yet he was the one who had suggested such a harebrained scheme. His train of thought came to an abrupt halt as he heard pupils arriving for his first lesson of the day.<p>

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><p>"Who have we got first?" Kerry asked, although she was slowly making her way across the room to where a timetable was tacked to the wall. She was sure she would be back on the streets of London in her uniform before she memorised the schedule.<p>

"Lower Sixth." Joe replied, not looking at her as he moved across to his desk and took out a whiteboard marker.

Kerry nodded, feeling a rush of anticipation at the thought of observing Jasmine in Joe's class. She kept her gaze on the wall for a moment before going over to her smaller desk in the corner of the room. A few minutes later a group of about fifteen students began to drift into the room and take their seats. Kerry wondered whether Jasmine would take a seat at the back or the front of the classroom. She was also interested to observe how Jasmine interacted with pupils of her own age. She did wonder why Jasmine had chosen to have an affair with a teacher rather than dating a student of her own age. For about the hundredth time she wondered what had led to Joe to become romantically involved with his then sixteen year old pupil. Maybe there was more him than met the eye, which was certainly true of Jasmine and, she supposed to a certain extent, herself and Smithy.

Jasmine, taking advantage of not having to wear a uniform any longer, was dressed in a short skirt, low cut sweater and boots. Kerry could almost have rolled her eyes at the clichéd set up before her had it not been real life. She did think that Jasmine would probably be quite a pretty girl if she stopped trying so hard and wore a little less make up. Under the pretence of looking for a pen, Kerry watched as Jasmine selected a seat and the back of the classroom, seeming to completely ignore her teacher. Kerry was a little surprised, expecting her to flaunt her special relationship with her English teacher and perhaps attempt to embarrass him. She was almost disappointed by the way Jasmine behaved, barely speaking except for when Joe checked off the register. She was sat between two other pupils, one of whom Kerry recognised from outside the corner shop the previous evening but she didn't even whisper to either of them.

Kerry read out a section of 'Jane Eyre' while Joe wrote notes on the board for them to copy down. The lesson passed quite quickly and very smoothly, not at all the way Kerry had expected it to. As she would also be sitting in to give assistance to Joe's next class it was unlikely that Jasmine would stay behind to talk to him. She desperately wanted to find out some more information, no matter what it was, that tied Joe to the Blacks or Jasmine to Kathryn's death before the teenager went to Smithy's next PE lesson. It wasn't that she didn't trust him to find out the information they needed, she just wanted to spare him the trouble of getting closer to Jasmine himself. He had already done enough in convincing her superiors to take her seriously and now he had given up his ordinary life to be here undercover with her. The last thing Kerry wanted was for Smithy to put himself in harm's way; in Jasmine's way. She knew she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if something happened to him during this operation.

Disillusioned when Jasmine Black left the English classroom without evening a backwards glance at her teacher, Kerry put away her copy of Jane Eyre and opened the battered edition of Hamlet. It was going to be hard to focus on Shakespeare when her brain was desperately grasping at ways to worm her way closer to the Blacks. Fortunately, when the class of Year 8 pupils filed in, Joe told them to put away their books and he rigged up the television instead. She almost sighed with relief along with the rest of the class. While Hamlet lamented on the death of his father and his revenge mission, Kerry was able to let her mind wander. Sometimes, when she just let her thoughts flow naturally, she could see patterns and solutions that would not come when she thought long and hard about them. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she barely noticed when Joe slipped from his position at the side of the room and silently left the room. She was the only one to notice him leave and she couldn't help but wonder if it was Jasmine he had gone to meet. Kerry would be sure to challenge him on his absence when he returned and they had a moment alone, perhaps now would emerge as the right time to let him know that she was aware of his affair with the student.


	10. Chapter 10: Confessions

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 10: Confessions<span>

_Thanks for the reviews! Things are going to start heating up after this chapter! Reviews are loved. xx_

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><p>When Kerry arrived at Smithy's office during break time she looked flushed, was clutching her side but was also smiling. He looked up at her, feeling his own face break out into a grin. It felt good to really, genuinely smile rather than just pasting on a fake one for the good of his cover. It had been hard to keep positive that morning as he tried to teach the basics of football skills to a group of less able students. He was a fairly talented football player but actually teaching the sport didn't come as naturally to him, especially if he wasn't coaching students who were at the top of their game. Instructing this particular group to be police officers probably would have had more successful results. The morning had therefore dragged for Smithy but a little part of him had been glad that it had kept Jasmine's lesson on the horizon.<p>

While Kerry took a seat opposite his desk, Smithy got up and made them cups of tea. He could see that Kerry was desperate to reveal to him whatever it was she had learned but also that she needed time to order it in her mind before she spoke. He set a mug of tea in front of her and she picked it up, blew across the hot liquid and took a sip before finally speaking.

She briefly told Smithy how Joe had left the room shortly after his lesson with Jasmine, but covertly enough so that no one but her noticed his absence. He had been gone from the classroom for about fifteen minutes and Kerry had been sure to avert her eyes, focusing solely on the film adaptation of Hamlet, when he re-entered the room.

Kerry had waited until the lesson ended and the very last pupil had filed out of the room before she chose the moment to approach Joe. An innocent, winning smile on her face, Kerry had walked up to his desk where Joe was filing sheets of paper into a manila folder. When she had spoken she tried to keep her voice as light and friendly as possible.

"_Where did you disappear off to during the movie?" She asked._

_Joe looked up, only just managing to hide the surprise in his eyes. Kerry, being a trained police officer with a good few years experience, spotted it though. _

"_I just remembered something I had to do," He said, though he was pretty sure he wasn't convincing either of them. "I thought the perfect time to do it would be while the class were engrossed in watching the film and you were here to supervise if necessary." He was warming to his theme now, his voice getting stronger but Kerry was slightly appalled at how bad a liar he really was and that he didn't even seem to notice it. It was becoming quite clear now how Jasmine and her father had manipulated him. If a girl hadn't died because of the Blacks, Kerry might have felt sorry for him. _

_She took a breath before she spoke again, knowing that what she said could make or break the investigation before it had even truly gotten off the ground. _

"_What you had to do, did it involve Jasmine Black?" _

_She waited for his response, her eyes locked on his so he felt that he could not look away from her. He was sure that if he did, Kerry would know that he was lying; that he had something to hide. _

"_Why?" He replied, not confirming nor denying Kerry's suspicions. _

_It was Kerry's turn to be honest now. "I was waiting outside the classroom door yesterday morning, and I heard you talking with her."_

_Joe was beginning to get angry now, but his reactions were really due to fear. "I'm her teacher Kerry, I am allowed to talk to my pupils."_

_Kerry didn't like his tone, but wasn't surprised by the way he was reacting. She took another deep breath and bit the bullet. "As long as talking was all you were doing." She said softly._

_Joe glared at her, but the look in his eyes slowly died away. "Look Kerry, it's complicated. The Black family...they're difficult. I let myself get drawn into Jasmine's web and it was a mistake. I need you to pretend we never had this conversation and that I've got everything under control."_

"_Are you sleeping with her?"_

_Joe broke their eye contact and looked down at his shoes, a blush of shame turning his cheeks a faint red. "Yes. But it's not what you think."_

_Kerry raised an eyebrow, she knew this much already but she didn't want Joe to know that quite yet. _

"_She initiated it; all of it. I know that sounds pathetic and I wouldn't believe it if I were you either. I liked her, I genuinely liked her but now it's a mess. I don't expect you to believe it, but I'm the victim here."_

"_I do." She said equally as softly. Joe looked up at her in confusion. "Believe you." She qualified. _

"_You do?" His look of surprise somehow endeared him to Kerry a little._

"_Yes. Jasmine is bad news, I could see that right away. My husband agrees with me." This time there was no pause or hesitation when she referred to Smithy as her husband. Maybe she had begun to get used to it._

"_Please don't tell anyone what I've just said. Not even Dale." He looked frantic now, regretting opening up to Kerry. Somehow he felt that he could trust her even though they had only known each other for two days. "I could lose my job; I could lose anything."_

_Kerry reached out and touched his hand lightly. "It's okay," She assured him, but couldn't help wondering how many more victims of the Blacks there were._

Smithy was silent for a moment or two once Kerry finished talking. He took a few sips of tea as he thought it over.

"Do you think we can use him to get close to Blacks?"

Kerry shrugged. "I think he could be our way in." Her brain was already working on that very point. "Have you decided what to do in your lesson with Jasmine today."

Smithy swallowed, feeling the anxiety flood back. "Kerry, I think I spoke too soon about that. Maybe it's not the best idea."

She tried not to feel the sense of disappointment that weighed down on her. "I don't want you to feel you have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, Smithy." She said.

He looked at her, cocking an eyebrow and grinning softly. "What did you just call me?"

Kerry slapped a hand to her forehead and laughed, but it didn't last long. If someone else had been there and had overheard them, some serious explaining would need to be done.

"Well, Mrs Jones." Smithy said, a humorous glint in his eyes as he tried to sweep over the error. "Looks like break time is over. I'll see you at lunch and I can fill you in one what happens with Jasmine."

"See you later." Kerry nodded, rinsing her cup out and putting it on the narrow draining board beside the small sink. She wanted to wish him luck or to tell him not to worry about getting too close to Jasmine, but she was stopped by the hockey coach Ms Phillips entering the room.

"See you at lunch." He echoed, smiling at her.

Ms Phillips watched the exchange between the supposedly married couple, intrigued at how two people could work together as well as make a marriage work. To her eyes, they seemed to be doing a good job.

"I thought I'd help you out with the Lower Sixth class." She told him. "I've got a free period and I could use the fresh air. Teaching PE theory just isn't the same as going outside and getting some exercise."

Thinking about how he had always preferred legwork to working a desk at the police station, Smithy had to agree. "I'll meet you on the field then, Erin." He told her, secretly glad that he had a chaperone while dealing with Jasmine.

* * *

><p>Joe sat alone in his classroom during break time, barely noticing the minutes tick by. He was lost in his thoughts, wondering if confiding in Kerry about his illicit affair with Jasmine had been almost as big a mistakes as getting involved with his pupil in the first place. He had only known Kerry for two days, yet some part of him found her to be trustworthy and somehow opening up to her about Jasmine and the mess he was in made things seem a little less helpless. He just prayed to God that she didn't tell anyone else what he had confessed to her, losing his job would be terrible but he was sure that Jasmine's father would take more than his employment away from him if he knew that Joe had spoken out of turn.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11: Turnaround

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 11: Turnaround<span>

_Thanks so much for the reviews!_

_This chapter is quite long but there's no much Smithy/Kerry as I'm trying to push the plot along a bit more. There'll be plenty of Smithy/Kerry moments coming up in the next few chapters, though! Hope you enjoy this chapter and please review. :) xxx_

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><p>Kerry and Smithy didn't see each other again until the bell rang at the end of the school day. Dale had been teaching during Kerry's free period, and Joe had asked her to help him tutor an extra English lesson for GCSE students at lunchtime. Kerry was eager to see Smithy; to find out how his session with Jasmine had gone. She planned to cook his favourite curry for dinner as a 'thank you' for all he had done and was continuing to do for her and for the case. They chatted a little on the walk home but didn't want to mention anything about the case until they were safely inside, away from prying eyes and ears.<br>Smithy made coffee, unknowing to Kerry, using it as a distraction to buy himself some more time. He mentally kicked himself repeatedly for ever suggesting getting close to Jasmine, and now for not feeling like he could go through with it. He knew that Kerry would be disappointed with him at the very least.

Finally, with a mug of coffee each, Kerry asked what Dale had been dreading.

"So, how did you lesson with Jasmine go?"

He couldn't decide whether to tell the flat out truth or to embellish. He supposed he could tell her Ms Phillips had insisted on joining the lesson but he dismissed it, Kerry could always check with Erin and find out he had lied to her. Lying wasn't Smithy's style either, and he knew that he owed Kerry the truth.

"It didn't. Another teacher helped out with the training session so I got very little time with her."

Kerry absorbed this, feeling deflated and a little bit annoyed. "There's always tomorrow." She replied, aiming for some levity in her tone. Smithy's face betrayed him before he could speak, though. "You don't want to do it, do you?"

He hesitated, but honesty won out again. "No, not really. It was a stupid idea, I never should have suggested it."

Kerry sighed. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't, but part of her agreed with him. Getting close to Jasmine could be dangerous for him because of her father and his nefarious connections, but trying to get under the skin of a minor could put his entire future career in jeopardy. If Jasmine really was guilty of murdering Kathryn Walker then they didn't want to risk her being awarded a reduced sentence because her lawyers believed that Smithy's involvement with her had been inappropriate. It was plausible that one man in a position of authority had become more than professionally involved with Jasmine, but two? All of this was reasonable, Kerry accepted that but it didn't mean she had to like it.

"Why did you suggest it then?" Her cup of coffee forgotten, Kerry rounded on him with her hands on her hips. "If you knew you didn't have the balls to see it through?" She knew it was unfair, but she was suddenly too angry to care.

"I'm sorry, Kerry. I know how much this case means to you, I wanted to help things along."

Kerry ran her hands through her hair in exasperation. "I just wish you hadn't said anything at all. I believed that you were going to get somewhere with this, you even told DCI Meadows about it! I've shown my hand to Joe now, too."

"I'm sorry." He said again, going over to where she stood. "If you really want me to, I can try again."

Kerry shook her head, her anger slipping away from her now. "No, you're right. We'll have to find another way."

She leaned into him, resting her forehead against his shoulder and closing her eyes. A little amazed at how they had gone from a shouting match to an almost intimate gesture, he slipped his arms around her and she didn't pull away.

* * *

><p>Jasmine Black walked home from school alone. She had managed to dodge her so called friends and had taken the less well known paths home. She needed time to think and there was no way she would be able to do that with the distractions of others disrupting her concentration. Although he had only turned seventeen recently, Jasmine Black was wise for her years. Growing up the way she had, without a mother and with a father who had been preoccupied with business more often than not, she had had every little choice. It had paid off though, because now her father trusted her implicitly. In fact, he had more faith in her that a lot of the men who had worked for him for years. Jasmine was organised; prepared and she was rarely outsmarted by anyone or anything. Today, however, she had been truly tested.<p>

After her English lesson with Joe that morning she hadn't expected to see him again that day, at least not during school hours anyway. When he caught up with her in the corridor and asked for a word with her about her coursework, she knew something was wrong. It was rare that he was the one who sought her out and not the other way around. She had initiated their entire affair and he had been powerless to stop her once she had become determined to sink her teeth into every inch of his life.

When Jasmine's father had found out that she was having a sexual relationship with her teacher, a man a dozen years her senior, he had hit the roof. His anger had not been directed at Jasmine though, he knew he had neglected her and that growing up without a maternal figure had impacted negatively on her. She had been sixteen at the time and not breaking the law by having sex, apart from the fact that her chosen partner was her English teacher.

"Why not one of the boys your own age?" Grant had asked her, to which Jasmine had simply laughed and rolled her eyes at him.

Grant asked her if she was going to break it off with her teacher, knowing it would be both foolish and pointless to tell her to stop seeing him. Jasmine had inherited her stubborn streak from both of her parents and telling her not to do something would only making the option seem more attractive.

"I want to meet him." Grant had told her when she confirmed his suspicious that she would not stop seeing Joe until she was good and ready.

"You already have." She replied, referring to one of the few parents' evenings he had attended at her school. "My English teacher, Joe Harrison."

Grant had frowned, trying to summon an impression and a mental image of the man his daughter was sleeping with. "I want you to invite him to dinner." He said, when he was unable to drag the information he required from his memory. Grant had an almost photographic memory for some details and faces, but someone he considered unimportant, such as one of his daughter's teachers, could easily slip through the cracks. If he had known that his daughter would go on to have a sexual relationship with the man, Grant would have paid much closer attention.

"Daddy, are you sure?" Jasmine had asked, and her father had insisted. From then on, Joe Harrison had been indebted to the Black family with no way to break his ties to them. Well, not if he valued his life, anyway.

Jasmine's relationship with Joe had changed from the point forward, but she still held his puppet strings, perhaps tighter than before. Her father's interest in Joe and their relationship, had led her own interest in him to waver a little. He was still a much better candidate than any of the boys in her class or the year above, though. Although she liked Joe well enough as a person, their relationship was mainly physical and she was the one who would call the shots. Therefore, when he had asked to speak with her a frown had formed between her neatly manicured eyebrows and had remained there ever since.

* * *

><p>"<em>What do you mean?" She had asked him in a violent whisper. "Did you tell someone about us?"<em>

_Joe shook his head, feeling a small lurch of fear in his heart. It wasn't really Jasmine he was afraid of, it was the influence she had over her father and Grant's line of work that terrified him. "It was the new English teaching assistant, Ms Jones. I don't know how she found out, but she knows about us."_

"_What does she know?"_

"_That we've been having sex."_

_Jasmine swore. "If my dad finds out, he's going to be seriously pissed off." She said it as though the thought had never occurred to Joe, who had been thinking about it all day. _

_At the end of the day, Joe was expendable, but Jasmine wasn't through having her fun with him yet. Maybe when someone better came along, perhaps that sexy new football coach? She reminded herself that Dale was married, and that he had been making quite an obvious attempt to avoid being alone with her after their first lesson together. Not to mention that the woman Dale was married to was the one who had found out about her and Joe's affair._

"_Did you try to deny it?" She asked._

_Joe shook his head. "She overheard out conversation yesterday morning, and there was nothing I could say to explain it away."_

"_We'll just have to make sure she doesn't tell anyone else." She said, turning away to go to her next class and leaving him with his mouth open. He was left to wonder if this was yet another thing to worry about and keep him awake at night._


	12. Chapter 12: Bitter End

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 12: Bitter End<span>

_Thanks for the reviews! This chapter jumps about it, but I hope you like it! _

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><p>Early the next morning, before lessons had begun, Joe Harrison found himself in the Headmaster's office. It was by his own choice that he was there not because he was being reprimanded, well he supposed truthfully it was because of Jasmine that he was meeting with Mr Edwards.<p>

_Hoping for a quiet evening at home, he had been surprised, and not in a good way, when Jasmine had turned up at his ground floor flat a little after eight o'clock. He had been sitting on the sofa with a beer in his hand, half watching the football on television and thinking over how he could have been sharing a drink with the woman whom he had met at the supermarket earlier that evening. Joe had never been the sort to be unfaithful in a relationship, but then whatever he and Jasmine had going was unlike anything he had ever experienced. For a while he had thought it was a good thing; a scary but exciting thing. Now he longed to spend time with an ordinary woman of a similar age, who had similar interests to him. Strangely; inexorably he had found his thoughts moving towards Kerry Jones, and thinking that if things were different and she wasn't happily married, they would probably make a good couple. He had been roused from these thoughts by the doorbell ringing. Joe hadn't been expecting company and the only person he could imagine turning up unannounced at this time of the evening was Jasmine Black._

"_Can I come in?" She asked, pushing by him and into his small apartment before even one word had escaped his lips. He closed the door and locked it, but not before peering outside into the darkened street._

_When Joe re-entered the living room, Jasmine was sitting on the sofa in the spot he had just vacated. She picked up his half finished beer bottle, took a sip and made a face._

"_I don't know how you can drink this stuff."_

"_Maybe because I'm legally allowed to." He shot back, but instantly regretted it. He rubbed his hands over his face, his palms rasping over his stubble. "I'm sorry." He meant it, too._

_Jasmine waved off the awkward moment but Joe had a feeling she was probably storing it for later as something to tell her father if he ever put his toe over the line that Grant Black had drawn for him, in permanent ink._

"_I need to ask you a favour."_

"_Okay." He replied, unable to keep the wariness out of his tone._

"_I need you to arrange a social 'outing'," She made air quotes with her fingers. "For the teacher, as many of them as possible, and especially the new two."_

_Joe raised an eyebrow but didn't protest, he knew better. "Any reason why?"_

"_Because I asked. Nicely." She went over to him, reaching up to put both his hands on his shoulders. Her face was inches from his and he felt a lurch low in his stomach. However much the Black family and the situation he found himself in disgusted Joe, there was still something that made him unable to turn Jasmine down; unable to even try._

"I was thinking that it might be nice if we organised some kind of get-together for the staff." He said, bringing himself back to the present. "Especially now we've got new members."

Derek looked at Joe thoughtfully. "What were you suggesting?"

"Perhaps something simple to begin with, just a drink at the local pub but if it's a success maybe a group activity of some sort?"

"It's not a bad idea." Derek replied. "But surely you could have arranged this without coming to me and asking my permission."

"Yes," Joe allowed. He had wanted to do this properly but Derek didn't need to know that. "But I thought you might like to attend to and I didn't want you to think I was going behind your back." Jasmine had not told him that he couldn't invite the Head teacher.

"Ah, very kind of you. I think it's a good idea, yes." He was thinking of the two undercover police officers in his school and how this could be beneficial to them.

Joe stood up. "I was thinking eight o'clock on Friday night at the Rose and Crown."

Derek nodded his approval. "You never know, you might see me there." Joe hoped that he would.

* * *

><p>Kerry had slept badly that night. It was hard to fall asleep when you were sharing a bed with someone while your feelings for them changed. It should be Cameron she was sleeping next to and the thought made her feel guilty and uncomfortable again.<p>

The previous evening Kerry had gone ahead and cooked the curry with some help from Smithy. He had poured two large glasses of beer and they had sat chatting for a long time after the meal was over. They handled the cleaning up together, one washing up; one drying up while they looked out on the garden as twilight slowly swallowed it up. September was fading into October and it wasn't long before all they could see were their own reflections in the glass.

Kerry had handed Smithy the last soapy pot and went to dry her hands. She picked up her watch from the kitchen table and had yelped as she put it on.

Smithy had looked around at her in shock. "Alright?"

"No, I was supposed to call Cameron...nearly an hour ago!"

He had tried to make an appropriate facial expression but all he felt was disappointment. By mentioning her boyfriend's name, the evening they had had enjoyed together had been shattered, at least for him. Kerry had rushed out of the room with her phone and the extra sim card, leaving Smithy in the solitude of the kitchen.

"_I'm sorry Cam, I was busy and time ran away with me." It sounded lame to her ears, so it must sound even worse to him. Annoyingly for Kerry it was the truth, but if it was him out here living a faux married life with one of her female colleagues, she knew she would react in a similarly bad way. _

"_Busy doing what?"_

"_Planning our next move in the operation, Cam. You know how important this is to me."_

"_Yeah, yeah, I do. I sometimes think it's the only thing you care about anymore."_

"_That's not fair!" His words stung, especially as there was a measure of truth to them. "Maybe we should talk again tomorrow when we're both in better moods." She was afraid that she would say things she didn't mean if they carried on this conversation right now. Perhaps, even worse, she might say things she really did mean and that scared her more. _

It was with a great effort that Kerry dragged herself from the bed, feeling a sick twinge deep in her stomach that had nothing to do with the curry and beer she had consumed the previous night. She carried out her usual morning routine without really noticing what she was doing; only grunting briefly when her and Smithy's paths crossed. For the first time she was beginning to have regrets and doubts about pushing so hard for this operation to take place and to have a role in it. There must have been other ways to find and punish those responsible for Kathryn Walker's death, but then she remembered the weeks she had fruitlessly searched for leads. As difficult as it was both personally and professionally, Kerry knew her only option was to see it through until the bitter end.


	13. Chapter 13: Hope

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 13: Hope<span>

_Thanks for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter, we'll be getting to the drama soon!_

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><p>Kerry and Smithy walked to school in silence early the next morning. He could tell that she had a lot on her mind, but also knew her well enough not to pressure her into revealing her thoughts until she was ready to. She was losing hope in the operation and had to keep reminding herself that it was only the third day undercover. It felt like she had been playing this role for weeks now, and not merely days. They were due to speak with their superiors at Sun Hill station again that evening, and though she had little to share, maybe someone there would have advice for them.<p>

Wednesday morning meant the weekly staff meeting at the school. Kerry was one of the very few people looking forward to the meeting. If the Black family could sink their hooks into Joe, then what was stopping them from recruiting other teachers into their ranks? There were still many members of staff Kerry and Smithy had yet to cross paths with.

The meeting was routine and possibly more dull than a briefing at the station. Kerry was glad she had helped herself to a coffee before it had begun, having to stifle a yawn part way through would have been humiliating.

Boredom, on Kerry's part, led to her thoughts running away with her. She seemed to be spending far too much time lost in her own thoughts lately. She needed to be alert and focused, but without the rigorous demands of police work, it was easy to drift away from the present. She needed to keep Kerry Young separate from Kerry Jones, but it was difficult when these lives overlapped. Conflicting feelings for Smithy weren't helping her to keep a clear head either.

There was a piece of news that piqued Kerry's interest, bringing her back to the here and now. People were beginning to leave the hall now as students slowly converged on the school.

"Some of us were thinking," Joe began, not quite truthfully. "About getting together for drinks on Friday night. 8pm at the Rose and Crown if you're interested."

Kerry's eyes lit up, and she sought out Smithy in the throng of teachers. He was smiling, too. The pub was far enough from Sun Hill station that it was unlikely any officers would choose it as their watering hole that Friday night. Kerry could tell Meadows to warn the officers against going there when they talked to him later. Spending the evening with a selection of the school's staff outside of the building and daily routine could bring information to the surface. It might be a long shot but, as well as anxiety and anticipation, it was hope that Kerry felt bubbling through her veins.

As she walked to the English classrooms she was no longer plagued by guilt, desire or hopelessness, at least not for the time being. Her goal was becoming clearer again and she was focused one hundred percent on Kathryn, penance and justice.

* * *

><p>The feeling had faded but was still close at hand as Kerry and Smithy sat before the laptop screen in their kitchen at seven o'clock that evening. Once again, it was only Meadows who sat it on the other end of their conference call with the station. Kerry wasn't surprised this time that Superintendent Heaton didn't think this warranted his attention just yet. She put more faith in Meadows anyway, he thought like a cop not a bureaucrat.<p>

Kerry filled him on everything they had seen and learned since their last conversation and, when Jack asked how successful Smithy had been with Jasmine, she had covered for him and backed him up. As angry as she had been with him yesterday, she could now see his point of view clearly. Meadows didn't seem quite so accepting but when Kerry told him about the meet up scheduled for Friday night he seemed to forget about it. The arrangement seemed to make Meadows quite optimistic and Kerry wasn't sure if it was because he had faith in them or if he believe it was their final shot at getting properly initiated into their double life. They signed off, telling Meadows they would check in with him again on Saturday morning.

"I'd better call Cameron." Kerry said, shutting the laptop's lid. A sense of dread washed over her.

"You could sound a little happier about it!" Smithy teased, until he saw her expression. Envy kicked up a notch, followed by a sense of injustice. He hated that Tait had this woman in his life but was taking her for granted, when Smithy would love for this double life they were living to become a reality.

Without another word, Kerry excused herself from the kitchen and shut herself in the bedroom to call Cameron.

Cursing the situation, Smithy took a beer from the fridge, snapped open the top of went into the living room. He hoped the West Ham match would be shown on the television tonight, he definitely needed the distraction.

* * *

><p>"Hi Cameron, it's me." She said, hoping to inflect an easy brightness into his voice.<p>

"Hi Kerry, look now's not a great time..."

The words stung. "This is when I always call you."

"Always?" He chuckled bitterly. "When you remember, more like!"

"I'm sorry," She stopped, convinced that she had heard girlish laughter in the background. "Where are you?"

There was a pause where Kerry could hear him telling someone called Amber to 'keep it down'. Kerry felt tears springing to her eyes as if from nowhere.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Forget it," She snapped. Anger, guilt and regret washed over her like a tide. He had never understood how important this case was to her, had never supported her the way that Smithy had. Cam was a father himself, surely he could empathise with what Laura and John Walker were suffering? "Maybe it'll be better for us if we take a break and speak again once the operation is over?" She should have made this decision before she went undercover, she saw that clearly now.

"Maybe it will." Cameron replied coolly. They hung up simultaneously.

* * *

><p>Although the volume was turned up high as he absorbed the football match, Smithy could still hear the dull thud of an object hitting a door upstairs. Muting the TV, Smithy ran upstairs to find Kerry picking up her mobile phone from where she had thrown it.<p>

He was horrified to see tears shining in her blue eyes. Without thinking, he went over to her and drew her into his embrace. She didn't resist the gesture, and let herself be held.

As he fingers closed over the soft material of his sweatshirt she felt it again, despite her current despair and misery, she felt hope.


	14. Chapter 14: Friday Night

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 14: Friday Night<span>

_Thanks for the reviews! Here goes chapter 14, hope you like it! xxx_

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><p>Thursday passed without Kerry or Smithy learning anything new or of any value that would help them to nail the Black family. But, during the afternoon, Kerry found someone in the corridor who she had been dying to meet all week.<p>

"Hi Michael," She smiled as she approached the curly haired seventeen year old. He looked up at her but no recognition showed on the boy's face. Kerry supposed it was a good thing really, at least it meant she had gone fairly unnoticed as Kathryn's funeral.

"Hi," He replied, a little warily.

"I knew Kathryn, a bit." She explained, and she saw sadness creep into Michael's eyes at the mention of his deceased girlfriend's name. "I'm sorry for your loss, but if you want to talk to someone about her; about what you're going through, then I'm here for you."

Michael still looked a little wary, but he managed a small smile in response. It seemed to him as if, since coming back from the summer break, people had forgotten all about Kathryn Walker and her untimely death. The fact that his girlfriend was still on this Mrs Jones' mind made him feel a little brighter.

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><p>Friday morning saw a change in Kerry's demeanour and, although Smithy was relieved to see the old, bubbly version of her again, he was worried that tonight would only bring her more disappointment. He didn't have the heart to say this to her face, though. Or that, if they learned nothing knew or useful, he feared Meadows would pull the plug on the undercover operation when they spoke with him via video chat the following day.<br>For now he tried to enjoy Kerry's good spirits, thinking that it was a relief to see her happy again after her breakdown following her phone call to Cameron on Wednesday night. Whenever he thought about it, how broken Kerry had seemed afterwards, he felt his hands bunch into fists. He hoped his rage would have had time to dissipate before he was forced to come face to face with Cameron again.

At the end of the school day, Kerry and Smithy walked home together, talking about their day. A week had passed and both of them felt that they had settled in and had been accepted by the majority of the staff and students.

Joe had checked with Kerry at the end of their last lesson if she, and Dale, were definitely meeting up with them for a drink that evening. Kerry had assured him that they would be there, but there was something in Joe's eyes that Kerry didn't like. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but it made her feel uncomfortable all the same. She meant to mention it to Smithy as they walked home but it had slipped her mind. Later, she would regret that.

* * *

><p>Grant Black was sipping from a heaving crystal tumbler of bourbon in the kitchen when Jasmine arrived home from school.<p>

"I want you to stay home tonight, Jazzy." He said, without the preamble of giving her a kiss or asking about her day.

A pout formed on Jasmine's lips but she did not contradict her father; she knew better.

"I couldn't have arranged tonight without your help." He told her. It was a half truth, but he felt that he ought to throw her a bone. "But you need to stay out of the way. And away from Joe."

Real fear showed in her eyes. "Daddy?"

Grant went to her now, resting his hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "As long as he sticks with the plan, Joe will absolutely fine." Silently, he added, 'until I'm through with him'.

Still feeling sulky and having half a mind to defy her father, Jasmine went upstairs to change her clothes.

* * *

><p>Standing in front of the bedroom mirror and applying her makeup, Kerry felt happier and more like herself than she had in a long time. There was something cathartic about having a hot shower and getting ready for a night out in her nicest clothes. She was putting in a pair of dangly silver earrings when Smithy emerged from the ensuite bathroom, letting a cloud of steam in after him.<p>

"You look nice." He compliment, turning away to pull clean underwear out of a drawer.

With his back to her, Smithy was unable to see the blush that had crept up Kerry's neck to her cheeks.

"Thanks." She replied, before disappearing into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and leaving Smithy to dress in privacy.

They were ready to leave at seven thirty, planning to walk to the pub. The Rose and Crown was located not far from the school but on the opposite side of town to where Kerry and Smithy were living. The early October evening was chilly, and Kerry pushed her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket, trying not to shiver.

When they arrived at the pub, they spotted a small group of teachers and staff gathered around a table, Joe and Erin, the PE teacher, among them. With enthusiasm, Joe waved them over to the table and Libby, the physics teacher, moved up to give them room.

"Glad you could join us." Joe smiled, he seemed happy enough but there was also a nervous energy about him, which Kerry found intriguing. He asked them what they wanted to drink and went off to the bar, but when he came back he refused Smithy's offer of cash, insisting that the first round was on him. Rather than thinking of it as a kind and generous gesture, Kerry was suspicious. When he moved away, she tried to catch Smithy's eye but he was engrossed in a conversation with the man on his other side.

As eight o'clock became nine, they were joined by quite a few more staff members, and even the Headmaster and his wife stopped by briefly on their way home from a dinner date. When it was Kerry and Smithy's turn to buy in a round, she opted for a non-alcoholic drink wanting to keep her mind as sharp and focused as possible. In the end she was glad that she had taken the effort to stay sober, though intoxication would have explained away some of the behaviour of the next few hours much more satisfactorily.

At around ten o'clock, the doors swing open and a man with thick dark hair stepped into the pub, unbuttoning his grey jacket as he approached the bar. Kerry watched him carefully over the rim of her glass, pretending to be listening to whatever it was that Smithy was saying.

After two hours of drinking and chatting she had been starting to become bored and disheartened but now a surge of adrenalin coursed through her system. Could it be? She silently urged the man to look her way, he mind already conjuring up the black and white images she had studied when she had been deep in research of Black and his associates.

Finally, picking up his glass of whiskey, he turned towards their table. Realisation gripped her, yes it was him; yes Grant Black stood only metres away from where they sat. With a quick glance at Joe, who did seem genuinely oblivious, Kerry lightly stamped on Smithy's toe to get his attention. She leaned in close, her voice barely audible even though her mouth was just centimetres from his ear. "He's here."


	15. Chapter 15: A Night of Surprises

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 15: A Night of Surprises<span>

_I'm so sorry for taking longer than 2 months to update this story! Here's an extra long chapter to make up for that!_

_Thanks for the reviews. I'll try and get the next chapter up much more quickly. xxx_

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><p>"<em>He's here."<em> The words echoed through Smithy's skull and it took all of his willpower not to immediately swing his head around to search for Black. He did sit up straighter in his chair now, feeling the effects of the couple of beers he had drunk seeming to slip away. A sidelong glance at Kerry told him that she was on high alert too. He wanted to do something; to squeeze her hand or give her a reassuring smile but she didn't seem to be paying him any attention now.

A few tense minutes passed as they tried to continue making polite small talk and joke with the remaining staff members. Kerry's heart wasn't in it, and at every available instant she was covertly combing the room with her eyes for a glimpse of Grant Black. When a couple of the teachers got up from the table to move onto a nightclub, Smithy had to stand up to let them pass. His elevation gave him a height advantage and he spied a man at the bar.

Grant Black was concentrating on the tumbler of whiskey in his hand, and didn't appear to notice Smithy's sudden but probing glance in his direction. It wouldn't surprise him if Black was fully aware of every movement of every person in this bar.

Kerry had pored over grainy CCTV footage and photographs of him over the summer, and Smithy was worried that in her desperation for tonight to be successful she had only imagined this man to be Black. When Smithy finally looked at the man Kerry had indicated, he could see that she had not been mistaken. The man sitting at the bar, drinking whiskey and seeming to be ignoring everyone and everything, could be no one else but Grant Black. Part of him wanted to take Kerry out of here now, drag her kicking and screaming back to the house if that was what it took for her to be safe. Smithy was no stranger to dangerous criminals but there was something the mere presence of Grant Black that chilled his blood. He would stay though, firmly beside Kerry because he knew how important this was to her.

* * *

><p>The majority of the party had left now, either to move onto other pubs and clubs in the area or in town, or back home to their loved ones. Only four members of staff remained at the table now; Kerry, Smithy, Joe Harrison and one of the art teachers.<p>

Despite Joe's protests, the art teacher soon picked up his coat and exited the pub too. The table felt ridiculously large now that only three people occupied it, and Smithy looked at Kerry trying to gauge what her next move would be. Her gaze was firmly focused on Black though and she still didn't even seem to notice that Smithy was there, let alone trying to communicate with her.

Sitting back, Smithy crossed his arms over her chest in an unwittingly defensive gesture. He was only brought back to the present when Kerry jabbed him sharply in the side with her elbow. Smithy looked up in time to see Grant Black approaching their table.

Kerry met Smithy's glance this time, both of them wearing similar expressions of shock and surprise which they attempted to recover from as quickly as possible.

"Mind if I join you?" Grant asked, already pulling back a chair with his free hand. It was clearly a statement, not a question and for Kerry it supported the things she had learned about him over the summer.

Both of them nodded in response, trying to smile in a natural way. Kerry noticed that Joe looked the most uncomfortable of the three of them, and like someone who was about to vomit at any moment. Seeing someone as intelligent and competent as Joe turned into a mess of anxiety proved that Grant Black was a dangerous man; one not to be crossed.

"I recognised Joe here, sorry _Mr Harrison_, from the school."

Kerry tried not to roll her eyes at this ludicrous statement. Joe was sitting with his back to where Grant had previously been standing so there was no way that he had spotted the man from the back of his head surely?

"Mr Black," Joe replied with equal formality. "These are the two new teachers, Kerry Jones who is a teaching assistant in the English department with me and her husband Dale Jones who is the new football teacher."

Black looked from Kerry to Smithy and then back again with an annoying smug smile on his face that Kerry so desperately wanted to erase. She wanted to put him in cuffs and see him locked behind bars for the rest of his life, and sitting her making small talk with him made her skin crawl. The look of barely concealed distaste on Smithy's face informed her that he was feeling much the same way about the man.

"Nice to meet you both." Grant said his voice buttery smooth and sickly. Everything about him made Kerry's insides cringe but part of her could also see why people fell under his spell. In a way he was quite an attractive man, and he was clearly manipulative in his nature.

"I suppose you've met my daughter Jasmine," He continued. "She's taking both English and PE."

"Yes, we've both met her this week," Kerry replied, a fake smile twisting up the corners of her mouth.

"She's a very talented football player." Smithy supplied and Kerry was grateful. It wasn't a lie and went some way in endearing them to Black.

"She gets that from me," Grant replied, self confidence oozing from him. "I could have made the big leagues if I hadn't done my knee in when I was twenty."

Kerry tried to look sympathetic while Smithy nodded thoughtfully and began to engage Black in a conversation about football. Kerry didn't really know what either of them was talking about and neither did Joe, though his focus did not appear to be on the conversation taking place around him.

She began to relax a little as the conversation between the two men continued, with some of the tension she had felt when she had first spotted Grant beginning to evaporate. She was still alert and focused but some of the defensiveness of her stance had left her. Kerry wasn't sure if Grant's conversation with Smithy was just a friendly chat about football or if he was testing the other man, trying to work his way under the confident front Smithy had erected. She knew that she would never accept anything about Grant Black at face value; she could almost see his calculating mind working away.

"You're keeping very quiet, Kerry." Grant commented and she realised that she must have become so lost in his thoughts that she had tuned out of the conversation entirely.

She tried to smile, pursing her lips together tightly so that she didn't say anything she might regret. Being in the same room as Black, his smirking eyes focused on her made her skin crawl and it was taking more self control than she thought she had not to push back her chair and make her escape. It would all be worth it, Kerry told herself, when Grant Black was behind bars and no longer able to hurt anyone else the way he had killed Kathryn Walker and destroyed her family.

Kerry was beginning to see how Joe had become sucked into Jasmine and Grant's world. There was something so manipulative about the Black's that even the strongest willed of people would find difficult to resist. Again, Kerry wondered what kind of man Joe had been before he had become involved with the Black family, and would he ever be able to successfully break his ties to them. She would do everything she could to protect Joe from the fallout of his involvement with the Blacks and their crimes but he was not her priority.

"Jasmine hasn't mentioned much about you," Grant said, turning his now empty glass around and around in lazy circles on the tabletop. "Knowing my Jazzy, that's a good thing." His laugh sounded hollow to Kerry's ears, and felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising in response to it.

"She seems like a very able student from what I've seen of her this week." Kerry replied, and this time it wasn't a lie. Jasmine was clearly a smart girl; she was just choosing to or being forced to, use her intelligence for all the wrong reasons.

"That's my girl," He replied with a dark chuckle, briefly turning away to indicate to the bartender that he would like another glass of whiskey. Everyone else in the pub was more than capable of going up to the bar when they wanted their drinks refilled, but Grant Black was certainly not everyone else. The sheer arrogance of his behaviour irked Kerry more than anything else he had said or done all evening.

When Grant was supplied with a fresh measure of whiskey, he looked from Smithy to Kerry and back again. He was acting as if Joe wasn't even there, and the younger man did not seem to mind at all.

"So, how did the two of you meet then?"

"At college," Smithy replied without hesitation, referring to the cover story they had created during the weeks of preparation for the undercover operation. "Once I realised that I wasn't going to make it as a professional football player I decided that teaching it was the next best thing, and on my very first day I met Kerry."

He looked across at her and smiled warmly, squeezing her hand.

"Have you always worked at the same schools?" To anyone else this may seem like a string of innocent questions but Kerry and Smithy had been involved in enough interrogations to know when somebody was subtly trying to glean information. Neither of them was going to fall into whatever trap Grant thought he was setting up for them.

"On and off," Kerry replied this time. "We decided we weren't getting to spend enough time together so we started to look for a school where both of us could get jobs."

Grant seemed to have no further questions for them and, swirling the last of his whiskey around in the glass before swallowing it, he adjusted his coat and made to leave. He tapped Joe lightly on the shoulder on his way out of the pub, making the younger man jump as if he had been stung. Kerry and Smithy both noticed this, but for Joe's sake they pretended that nothing had happened.

"It was very pleasant meeting the two of you, goodnight." Grant said, actually sounding courteous.

Smiling as naturally as they could, Kerry and Smithy returned the sentiment and wished him goodnight too.

"I think we should call it a night too, don't you love?" Smithy said, with a barely concealed yawn as he stretched his arms.

"I think so." She replied, setting her empty glass back down on the coasted. She knew Smithy's reasons for wanting to leave because they mirrored her own. Both of them wanted the space and privacy to discuss and dissect what had happened that evening.

"Goodnight, Joe." Kerry said, once they were both wrapped in their jackets. "Have a good weekend."

Joe waved to them, but before Kerry and Smithy had left the pub he was already back at the bar ordering another stiff drink.

* * *

><p>Kerry and Smithy stepped outside into the cool autumn night, and quickly zipped up their jackets. Unsure if Grant was still lurking around outside, Smithy took Kerry's hand and they walked along like that looking just like any ordinary couple returning from a night out at the local pub. It felt ordinary to Kerry too, like something she could get used to. She shook the thought away, it was important to focus on the case and not on what her heart and her hormones wanted. Her fight and break up with Cameron were still fresh wounds and she didn't want to throw herself into something with Smithy without being sure that it would be more than just a fling.<p>

The walk back to the house seemed to pass by much more quickly than the journey to the pub, and soon they were only a few metres from it. It was really beginning to feel like home to both of them now, and living together seemed to have been an obstacle they had mostly overcome.

Smithy took the house keys out of his jacket pocket and unlocked the front door. He was about to step over the threshold when something stopped him in his tracks, unaware that Smithy had come to a standstill, Kerry walked straight into his back.

"What's wrong?" She asked trying to see around him but the light from the street lamps illuminated very little. Although she couldn't see much at all, Kerry could feel that something was wrong. Perhaps if they really had been just an ordinary couple they wouldn't have noticed anything amiss but years of training and experience meant they had honed a kind of sixth sense. They both knew that it was important to rely heavily on their instincts, and right now their guts were telling them that something wasn't right here.

"Kerry," Smithy said, looking at her with sober green eyes. His voice was calm but it seemed like he was controlling it so she wouldn't pick up on his fear, but she did anyway. "I think someone has been in our house."


	16. Chapter 16: Watched

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 16: Watched<span>

**_Thanks to Amy, Tasha, SCORPIAssassin and GurlIsAllowed2HaveFun for your reviews!_**

**_Hope you like this chapter, more to come soon! xxx_**

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><p>Kerry wanted to enter the house immediately, she was eager to find out what had been touched, tampered with or stolen. Smithy held her back though, a strong arm preventing her from slipping her slimmer frame past his. The shock, along with the discomfort of their meeting with Grant Black, was making her forget the most basic elements of her training as a police constable. It was lucky for her; for them both that Smithy was calm and rational. Maybe this was because, although he was invested in the case, the stakes were not as high or as personal for him as they were for Kerry. Smithy did not have Kathryn's dying face locked inside his mind, playing the girl's final moments in a continuous loop whenever she let her mind wander or whenever she couldn't sleep.<p>

She was sure that sleep would be a long time coming tonight, if it came to her at all. She did have one idea about how to get a good night's sleep but she knew it would only distract her further. Or would it? Perhaps a release of hormones would ease the tension between so they could focus entirely on the operation. But could it be just the one time? Would it assuage Kerry's curiosity and desire, or make them return tenfold? Under different conditions she would have been more than tempted to explore this theory, but she knew that now it wasn't appropriate.

"Smithy, we're going to start attracting the attention of all the neighbours!" She protested, she had to do something, anything productive otherwise she wasn't quite sure she was able to trust her impulses.

He looked up, turning his head to give the surrounding neighbour a quick, cursory glance. "This isn't Wisteria Lane, Kerry."

Temporarily forgetting the situation, her fears and her distractions, Kerry grinned. "You watch Desperate Housewives?" It was difficult to keep the disbelief out of her voice.

He gave a short cough to clear his throat. "My mum likes it." He finally pulled himself to his feet and made his way slowly inside their house.

* * *

><p>The lightened atmosphere between them ended abruptly as they combed the house. Careful not to touch anything, they searched for fingerprints, shoe prints or stray hairs that didn't match either of theirs. It had clearly been a professional hit with minimal evidence left behind that anything had happened at the house at all. Had they not been trained law enforcement officers themselves, they might not have noticed that anyone had been inside the place.<p>

"I think they came in through the front and went out the back." Smithy called from the door that led out onto the square back garden. He pointed the small flashlight he had taken from a kitchen drawer and examined the lock.

Kerry joined him from where she had been looking in the living area, standing close behind him as her eyes followed the torch's beam. Smithy tried to focus on the minimal damage inflicted upon the lock but it was difficult when Kerry was so close, her breath on the back of his neck and the scent of her perfume wafting into his nostrils. Why had he ever thought they could live together, like a couple, without crossing the line between friends and lovers. If she didn't move away from him soon, he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep away.

"But why?" Kerry asked, a frown creasing her brow. "How did Black know we'd be at the bar tonight and not at home? We didn't spend very long with him this evening, and it's only a ten minute walk home. How did he arrange it all?"

Smithy's expression was equally puzzled, then his green eyes widened with realisation. "Joe," He replied. "And Jasmine! Wasn't Joe who first mentioned tonight's little get-together at the staff meeting? He could have been under pressure from Jasmine or her father to arrange it?"

Kerry had to admit that it made sense, but it didn't fill in all of the blanks either. "Does that mean they know that we're undercover cops?"

Smithy shook his head. "No, there's no way they could know. Maybe Joe told Jasmine that you were onto them about their affair, and Jasmine told her father. Perhaps he's trying to gain some sort of leverage over us to make sure we don't tell anyone about it?"

Kerry considered this. "Yeah, you could be right. Someone like Black wouldn't want people knowing that his precious little daughter has been having an affair with her teacher, would he? If Joe were to be involved in an 'accident', he wouldn't want me coming forward with that piece of information, would he?"

"You really think Black would kill Joe?"

Kerry shrugged a shoulder, she believed Black to be capable of much worse and if the man wasn't so careful and well protected, she would have proof of it. "His daughter may have stabbed a teenage girl in broad daylight, and she had to have picked it up somewhere."

"Like father, like daughter." Smithy laughed, but there was no humour in it. "I suppose we'd better take a look upstairs."

* * *

><p>Kerry and Smithy made their way upstairs in silence, both of their minds racing with thoughts. Smithy went first, pushing open the door to their bedroom. He came to a sudden halt again, Kerry almost crashing into his back.<p>

"I know honey, let's have a bubble bath before bed." He suggested, his voice sounding strange to Kerry's ears, until she saw what he was subtly indicating to her.

"Sure." She replied, eyes wide with a mixture of terror and anger as they backed out into the hallway.

On the wall in their bedroom, out of sight to the untrained eye, was a surveillance camera.


	17. Chapter 17: Downfall

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 17: Downfall<span>

_Thanks to Amy, Tasha and perky004 for your reviews! Sorry for the wait for this chapter, I have no excuse except laziness!_

_Hope you like this chapter, we're finally getting to some romance!_

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><p>Kerry and Smithy backed silently out of the bedroom and shut the door. They stood for a few minutes in the hallway, neither of them able to form words because of their state of shock. Rubbing her forehead, a thought suddenly occurred to Kerry and it was so awful that she didn't want to vocalise it.<p>

"Dale," She began carefully. "If there is a," She pointed towards the closed door rather than say the word. "In our bedroom, what about the rest of the house? If there are other devices around they probably picked up on everything we've said; they'll know what we're doing here."

Kerry's voice was the softest of whispers but Smithy picked up every word she said and shared in her horror. He gave her a brief hug, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek so that his lips were near her ear.

"We'll search the rest of the house for equipment before we jump to conclusions."

Kerry nodded, feeling better at having something menial but absorbing to do. Despite being tired after a long week and a draining evening, they began a thorough search of the house, looking for anything that could be a camera, voice recorder or any other piece of equipment that could give away their real reason for being here.

Kerry's thoughts swam around in the same circle as she hunted throughout the house for proof that they had given themselves away. She didn't care if her superior officers reprimanded her for not being careful and cautious enough, as long as they weren't too harsh on Smithy, but it was letting down Kathryn and her parents that worried her the most.

It took them almost two hours and only when both of them had checked every inch of the house were they satisfied that the camera in the bedroom was the only one to be found. Kerry was exhausted, feeling a sense of relief so strong that she was close to tears.

"Thank you." She said, stepping closer to Smithy.

"You're welcome." He grinned.

"No, I really mean it. Thank you for everything. I don't say it enough but I'm so grateful that you're taking this case as seriously as I am and that you've given up your life, your job and your home to help me with it."

"It's okay, Kerry. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't serious about it. Tonight has just made me more determined to nail Black and the bastards he works with."

"I swear you're the only thing that's keeping me from going completely crazy here. I feel like I've become Kerry Jones and I don't even know who the real me is anymore."

"I can, I know who she is. Not many officers would put themselves out like this for a victim."

She smiled up at him in the semi darkened stairwell. She was tired, her carefully put on makeup smudged and sweating for the intense sweep of the house but the way he was looking at her made her forget all her current imperfections.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Kerry was on tip toes with her arms around his neck, her lips brushing against his. Smithy didn't pull away, at least not at first. His lips responded to her's and his arms wound themselves around her waist, holding her tightly to him.

"No," She said, finally breaking away from him but with her palms pressed flat against his chest. She didn't exert any pressure with her hands, rather she was stopping herself from kissing him again.

Confusion started to extinguish the desire in Smithy's eyes, his pupils losing their dilated appearance. He was suddenly overwhelmingly tired; exhausted both physically and mentally. The only thing he took comfort it was that he hadn't been imagining the chemistry crackling between himself and Kerry. Clearly she felt it too, and even if the difficult, uncomfortable evening was what had sparked her to act on her attraction, at least she acknowledge its existence.

"I'm sorry," She said, when Smithy didn't speak. He wasn't sure he knew how to form words anymore, and even if he had he wasn't sure he would have known what to say anyway.

"It's okay." He finally replied, noticing that his voice held a tinge of regret. He wondered if Kerry had picked up on that too, and whether he wanted her to know he was disappointed. "Let's just go to bed. We've both had a crazy week, and this evening has been a rollercoaster. We'll feel better in the morning."

He headed up the stairs and was almost at the top when he realised that Kerry wasn't following him.

"Maybe I should sleep down here?"

Smithy shook his head. It might have been easier on both of them if they slept separately tonight but the operation was more important than either of their personal feelings.

"I promise to be a perfect gentleman." He said with a lopsided grin, his hand over his heart.

In spite of herself, Kerry smiled back at him and finally followed him up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Jasmine Black brushed impatiently at the leaves that had attached themselves to her jacket and stood up, stretching out cramped muscles. The mild evening had turned cold and damp, and she was beginning to wish she had taken her father's advice. She knew he would be returning home soon to find her bed empty, if he even bothered to check her bedroom. She hated that he kept involving her in his work, yet kept her out of anything interesting. She had obeyed his instructions and had asked Joe to arrange a meeting here tonight between Black and Mr and Mrs Jones, but she wanted to know why. Jasmine understood more about her father's business that she would ever let on, but some of the things he did made no sense to her. She did know that her father only used Joe Harrison to do his dirty work because of the relationship between the teacher and the con man's daughter. Jasmine supposed she should feel guilty for that, but Joe had made the choice to become involved with his student. She smiled now, thinking that really Joe had truthfully had very little choice in the matter.<p>

Jasmine possessed a fake ID but she didn't want to use it in the pub, not when her father was often a regular there and probably had another of his men inside. Instead she had decided to wait outside for Joe to emerge. It would have been much easier if she could just text or call him but she was pretty sure that her father had Joe's phone monitored, the same way that he probably now had the Joneses under surveillance.

Finally, at almost eleven o'clock, Joe exited the pub. He was a little unsteady on his feet and his wallet was much lighter than when he had entered the pub hours earlier. He started nervously when he saw Jasmine appear out of the shadows and into the poorly lit lane next to the pub.

"Christ, you scared me." He muttered, although she was the member of the Black family who scared him least.

"I've been waiting for ages." Jasmine replied, without even the hint of an apology.

"I was with your dad."

"I know. What was he doing with Mr and Mrs Jones?"

"Just talking to them, about you."

"About me." Jasmine was puzzled, but let it pass. "Let's go back to yours, it's freezing out here."

"Shouldn't you go home? Your dad will be wondering where you are, and he'll blame me."

Jasmine scowled, she didn't enjoy being told what to do by anyone.

"He'll blame you if I go home crying because you've upset me, too."

Joe was shocked by the manipulative streak this girl possessed, and not for the first time. She was definitely his biggest mistake to date and, if he wasn't careful, she would be his downfall too.

"Fine, let's go." He agreed, leading the way back to his apartment and hoping he wasn't about to make another huge error of judgement.

* * *

><p>Kerry surprised herself by sleeping soundly and only waking when the sun streamed through the gap in the curtains. The space in the bed beside her was empty and she was grateful for that. If they hadn't been working undercover and if the bedroom was not now under surveillance, Kerry wondered what would have happened the previous night. Was it just her fears and doubts that made her want something more from Smithy that their friendship? There was an attraction there though, there always had been. It was only now that she was realising that they both felt it.<p>

Sighing, Kerry dragged herself out of the bed and untangled her legs from the soft white sheet. She pushed open the door to the ensuite bathroom, planning to use the toilet before she went downstairs and faced Smithy over breakfast in the kitchen. It wasn't until that she had stepped inside the bathroom and shut the door that she realised she wasn't alone.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" Kerry apologised, blood rushing to her cheeks as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Smithy looked as surprised as she was, quickly reaching for his towel and wrapping his securely around his waist.

Kerry was rooted to the spot, knowing she should turn around and walk out but unable to make her legs obey the command. Her eyes were fixed on Smithy, the faint blush rising from his neck to his cheeks and the droplets of water from the shower trickling down his arms and bare chest.

This time when she reached for him she did it consciously, wrapping her arms around his damp torso and pressing her lips hard and insistent against his.


	18. Chapter 18: Sex, Lies and Videotape

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 18: Sex, Lies and Videotape<span>

_Thanks for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter, things are going to get a little steamy! xxx_

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><p>"Where were you last night?" Grant Black asked, not even looking up from his newspaper as his daughter entered the kitchen. She sat across from him at the kitchen table, pouring coffee that was strong and black into an empty cup next to the cafetiere.<p>

"Out." Jasmine replied, adding two teaspoons of sugar to her coffee without looking at him.

It was too early in the morning for an argument with his daughter, but Grant could feel his hands clenching into fists as he closed the newspaper.

"Were you with Joe?"

"So what if I was?"

Grant huffed out a breath, knowing better than to reprimand her for seeing the older man. In a way he should be grateful, Joe Harrison was a lot more useful to him than a pimply teenage boy of Jasmine's own age. The problem was the murderous rage he felt every time he thought of the English teacher touching his precious teenage daughter.

"He did a good job for me last night," Grant conceded, thinking back over his meeting with the Jones couple and the progress that was under way. "I suppose he deserved the reward of your company." He added grudgingly.

"What are you doing today, daddy?" Jasmine asked, glad to turn the conversation away from talking about Joe and whatever her father had involved him in.

"I've got to work, sweetheart." Grant replied with a private smirk.  
>"Oh, I was hoping you'd take me shopping."<p>

"Tomorrow." He promised, today he had far more pressing things to attend to than keeping his daughter happy.

* * *

><p>Smithy's towel lay abandoned on the bathroom floor, the water back on and turned up to a blissfully warm temperature. Kerry's fingers gripped Smithy's upper arms hard enough to leave bruises as she pressed her lips against his again and again. The water coursing over them only heightened her body's response to his. Smithy's hands slid down Kerry's torso to rest on her thighs, he picked her up and pressed her against the damp wall of the shower cubicle. She sighed as he parted her legs to wrap them around his waist, never loosening her hold on him. Kissing her again, long and hard, his tongue moved against her's; caressing it. Impatiently, Kerry urged him on, letting out a moan of bliss as Smithy entered her, stretched her, and filled her up. She held on tightly to him as he thrust into her, her head thrown back to rest against the wall as the ecstasy of their love making took her over.<p>

Reaching climax, Smithy released his seed inside of her and she was suddenly aware of her relief that she was still taking the pill. The thought left as soon as it arrived, as Smithy pressed his forehead against her's, both of them gasping for breath.

It hadn't been exactly how Smithy had imagined his first time with Kerry would be, but that made it better. He had no idea where this left them, but he didn't want to think about that yet. He just wanted to enjoy the warmth of the water and the softness of Kerry's damp, pliant flesh next to his.

* * *

><p>After lunch Grant Black found himself sitting in a small office that smelled of stale sweat, coffee and greasy burgers. Not wanting to think about what his pristine charcoal suit trousers might pick up from the chair he sat on, Grant surveyed the computer monitor before him. Donny, a young man of about twenty, sat next to him and clicked away at the mouse, moving from screen capture to screen capture. Not many more than twelve hours had gone by since the camera had been installed in the house where Kerry and Dale Jones lived but going through the footage seemed to be taking an age; at least it felt that way to Grant.<p>

"Everything looks normal." Donny told Grant. "I didn't see anything worth calling you about."

Grant shook his head, the camera quality was good and it would pick up conversations that took place between the couple but so far very little had happened. It had been just after midnight when the two of them had finally gone to bed, both already had changed into their pyjamas. Dale had awakened first, gone downstairs to make what Grant assumed was coffee and then went into the bathroom. Kerry had joined him in there shortly afterwards and they had spent a suspicious amount of time in the bathroom. They had finally emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in their dressing gowns with glowing complexions and had left the bedroom together. Since then the bedroom had remained empty and Grant was feeling frustrated. Twelve hours of footage and they had nothing useful yet. He supposed he would have to be patient, but patience was not something that came easily to Grant Black.

* * *

><p>Kerry and Smithy sat in the living room, the television on but with the volume turned down low. Neither of them spoke as they ate toasted sandwiches and drank coffee. There was so much that Kerry desperately wanted to say, but she didn't know how to get the right words out. She wanted Smithy to know that she didn't regret what had happened between them in the shower, but that she wasn't in the right position or frame of mind to give him anything more than a strictly physical relationship.<p>

Smithy was also lost for words, his feelings for his undercover wife even more confused than they had been before. He wanted some kind of reassurance from her that it had meant something to her, and wasn't just meaningless sex; the scratching of an itch. It had been a trying week for both of them, but even more so for Kerry who had also broken up with Cameron. Finding the surveillance camera in their room and that the place had been broken into couldn't have done anything to make Kerry feel any better, either. He understood that whatever there was between them would have to take a back seat until the operation concluded, but he wasn't sure he could wait that long to be with her properly.

At the moment, the weekend stretched out endlessly before them and in some ways, for the first time in a very long time, Smithy was finding himself looking forward to Monday morning.


	19. Chapter 19: Catch a Break

**Weapon of Choice**  
><strong>Chapter 19: Catch a Break<strong>

Thanks so much to Amy, Tasha, TheBill2012 and Samantha Chloe Grace for their reviews!

Hope you like this chapter. This one focuses more on Smithy and Kerry than on the case. Reviews are loved! xx

* * *

><p>It was a relief when it was finally time for Kerry and Smithy's scheduled video call with DCI Meadows. This meant they had no choice but to focus on the case and fill Jack in on every detail of the developments that had occurred since they had last spoken with their superior officer. Although the installation of the surveillance camera had unnerved them both, not to mention their meeting with Grant Black the previous night, at least it meant that they had plenty of pertinent information to share with Meadows.<p>

If the DCI suspected that anything was different or had changed between the two officers he did not mention it. He listened as they filled him in on the previous night's encounter with Black, and his facial expression changed to one of concern when he heard about the surveillance camera. It was a development that he had not expected, not even with his years of experience on the job.

"What do you want us to do next, gov?" Kerry asked, wanting to know Jack's take on the situation even if his instructions did not necessarily fit with how she wanted to go forward. The DCI was more rational than Kerry though, and she knew this. His detachment could be irritating and without Smithy's help and her own perseverance he probably would have dismissed the case before it had ever got off the ground. However, being less emotionally invested and more concerned with getting a result that would stand up in court, Jack's input and experience could be vital.

"Well, I'm certainly not pulling the plug on the operation just yet. You've both done exceptionally well over the last week. I would assume that last night was not the only time you will have contact with Black. He is clearly interested in you if he has taken the trouble to observe you. I also assume that he is looking for some sort of leverage to hold over you, to make you compliant with his demands the same way that this teacher, Mr Harrison, is."

Kerry and Smithy were both nodding in agreement with the DCI. Black clearly wanted something from them and it was possible that it was Joe who was responsible for this. As Kerry had suspected for some time, Joe Harrison was probably their weak link and the means of bringing down Black and enterprise, and of course finding justice for Kathryn Walker and her family.

"Smithy," He continued. "I would like to take back what I said before; I think it would be a mistake for you to get too close to Jasmine. Treat her as you would treat any other pupil in your class, but Kerry I think you should try and form a closer friendship with Harrison. Flirt with him if you have to, but get him to open up to you. I think he is our way in."

"I completely agree with you, sir." Kerry replied. "I think he already trusts me, and we have a good rapport. It shouldn't be too difficult to get him to talk to me."

"Excellent." Jack replied. "Other than that, carry on as normal. Don't give anyone any cause to suspect that you know about the camera, and try to carry on with your day to day life as before."

"Yes, sir." They echoed.

"I'll speak with you again on Monday evening after school, and will relay everything you've told me to Inspector Gold and Superintendent Heaton. Enjoy the rest of your weekend."

They signed off, Kerry and Smithy both looking at the blank laptop screen for a few long moments after Meadows had disconnected.

* * *

><p>Kerry wasn't sure she could spend an entire weekend in the house with Smithy, cooped up and spied upon, without going insane. What did normal couples do at the weekends? When she had asked herself this question she had only just manage to fight back a humourless laugh. She and Smithy were a lot of things, but a normal couple was not one of them. Whether or not their feelings for each other were real or purely sexual could not properly be explored in this environment. Now that they had acted on whatever their feelings were, it was harder to sweep them aside and just carry on with the undercover operation.<p>

"Do you want to go out?" Kerry asked, feeling restless and uncomfortable. "Maybe we could get some lunch and go to the cinema?"

Smithy looked at her, his own spirits seeming to rise at the suggestion. Two hours sitting in the dark and getting lost in a film might be just what they needed. It was strange that he could feel so awkward, so unsatisfied after making love to the woman he had dreamed and fantasised about for so long.

"That sounds like a great idea!" He replied, and almost leapt up from the sofa to begin getting ready to head out.

Feeling a little better herself, Kerry put on her makeup and jacket, and collected her handbag. By the time they were both ready to head out, Kerry was actually looking forward to the afternoon very much.

* * *

><p>Four hours later after a late lunch and a matinee showing of a comedy film, Kerry and Smithy left the cinema complex in much better spirits. As they walked past the box office, Kerry spotted Jasmine and a few other girls who looked familiar from school. She quickly grabbed Smithy's hand, pasted a smile on her face and pretended to laugh at something he had said. Confusion flittered over Smithy's features and then realisation dawned in his green eyes, and he began to play along with the charade also.<p>

When they were safely across the road in a coffee shop they were finally able to discuss it.

"I didn't know Jasmine had friends in her school year. She usually seems so distant and aloof. I noticed that she doesn't even know all of the names of the students in the football team."

"No, I've never seen her with anyone apart from the girl and boy we saw outside the corner shop last week. They don't really seem like they're her friends, more like they want to be associated with her and she tolerates them. The only person she seems to care about is Joe."

"But if she really cared about him, she wouldn't be sleeping with him and risking his reputation as well as getting him trouble with the police."

"He could have said no." Kerry retorted, stirring her latte so violently that it was almost slopping over the side of her cup. "It takes two to tango, Dale."

She looked up, her blue eyes locking on his green eyes. He knew instantly that she was no longer talking about Jasmine and Joe, but an issue much closer to home for the both of them.

"Kerry," He began, but he stopped when he saw that her eyes had strayed from his and was looking in the opposite direction with alarm. "What is it?" He asked, reaching across the table and touching her hand. Kerry pulled away from his touch, though.

"It's Cameron." She whispered.

It took all of Smithy's willpower not to groan out loud, would he and Kerry ever catch a break?


	20. Chapter 20: The Third Man

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 20: The Third Man<span>

Thanks to Tasha and Sammi-summer for their reviews, and especially to Amy for listening to me prattle on about my ideas and helping me out with this!

Hope you like this chapter. Reviews are loved.  
>Any mistakes are mine. It's late and my brain is too asleep to weed out all the typos!<p>

* * *

><p>For a few tense moments of silence, Kerry and Smithy sat immobile, praying that Cameron would order his coffee to take away with him and would not spot the pair of them. Kerry had two reasons for not wanting to see her fellow police constable. Being seen with someone from the force; someone Grant Black or one of his associates may have encountered before could make things very difficult for them in terms of the case. After their row over the phone a few nights previously, which had brought about the end of their casual relationship, Kerry really didn't want to have to face him. A little part of her was worried that, if Cameron was anything less than pleasant and courteous to her, Smithy would end up causing a scene by feeling the need to protect her.<p>

They watched as Cameron was handed his coffee in a tall brown paper cup, and they thought they were home free when he accepted his change and made his way towards the glass doors. Kerry and Smithy let out sighs of relief in unison, until they saw Cameron double back to collect sachets on sugar. The next few moments unfolded in slow motion, as if they were in some kind of horror movie. Cameron lifted the lid off his coffee cup and tore open three sachets of sugar, then stirred his drink thoroughly with a wooden stick. As he looked around for the rubbish bin, recognition and surprise battled for dominance on his face.

Perhaps if things had been different between Cameron and Kerry, he would have left the coffee shop quietly, pretending not to notice the two of them. Instead, he strode over to them with a wide grin on his face.

"Hey there you two, didn't expect to see you in here."

"We didn't expect to see you here, either." Smithy replied in a cold tone of voice before Kerry could even open her mouth.

"How's married life treating you?" He asked, directing the question at Kerry as if Smithy wasn't even there.

"Fine, thank you." Kerry looked down at her nearly empty coffee cup, unable to meet his eye. She didn't know when she felt ashamed or embarrassed. She and Cameron were over; there was no reason for her to feel guilty about what had happened between her and Smithy in the shower. She was a grown woman, and she could sleep with whomever she liked. It was no longer any of Cameron Tait's business. If he still had any feelings for her at all, he would leave now and not risk putting the operation that meant so much to her in jeopardy. Kerry knew, in her heart, that if their roles had been reversed Smithy would not act in the same way that Cameron was.

"We should be going, shouldn't we Kerry?"

Not for the first time, Kerry felt herself torn between the two men. This time she had no choice about who she would leave with; she had to go with Smithy.

* * *

><p>Kerry and Smithy had left the coffee shop with barely a backward glance at Cameron. Smithy held on tightly to Kerry's arm, and she let herself be half pulled away by him. Part of her wanted to apologise to Cameron, though it had been his erratic and unfaithful behaviour that had forced her to decide to break up with him. She was quite sure that they would be together if it wasn't for the operation and all the time they had to spend apart.<p>

When they were on the next street Smithy let go of Kerry's arm, and she was grateful. His strong fingers had been digging into her flesh to an almost painful degree.

"Kerry, we really need to talk." He said, not looking at her but focusing on the footpath ahead of them.

"I know." She said softly.

"You didn't..." He paused, unsure whether he should continue or keep the thought; the suspicion to himself. "You didn't arrange for Cameron to be there this afternoon, did you?"

Kerry was shocked and hurt. "Of course not! Our decision to go to the coffee shop was a spur of the moment one to avoid Jasmine and her friends. I haven't even spoken to Cameron since we broke up over the phone."

"I'm sorry; I just wanted to make sure." He was sorry he had spoken, but at least he knew the truth.

"It was weird running into him like that, and I can assure that I definitely didn't want to see him."

"Good." Smithy smiled for the first time since they shared coffee together. "Shall we go home?"

Although the day had been quite restful, and fun at times, both of them felt exhausted. Kerry had a lot to process and was glad that they were putting off talking about what had happened between them for a little bit longer. They walked home in relative silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable as they were both lost in their own thoughts. Now that Saturday was almost over, the weekend did not seem to stretch out as long. By Monday morning Kerry was sure she would be wishing for another two days away from school.

* * *

><p>"Guess who I saw at the cinema today?" Jasmine Black said as she arrived home. She was quite surprised to find her father at home, seeing as he had said that he was too busy to take her shopping.<p>

"I don't know sweetheart, you'll have to tell me." He could have guessed because he knew there were only three possible options.

"Mr and Mrs Jones." Jasmine replied, and then pulled a face. "I didn't know teachers had lives outside of school. They looked so...normal."

"What about _your _Mr Harrison? He seems to have quite an active life outside of the classroom." Grant sneered.

"Joe is different, daddy."

"So you keep saying."

Jasmine pouted. "I'm going to take a shower; I'm meeting up with some friends tonight. Don't expect me home too early." She turned and left the room, her handbag swinging after her. Grant waved her off; at the moment he had far more to worry about than the way his daughter planned to spend her Saturday night."

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><p>After DCI Jack Meadows had relayed the information he had received from Young and Smith to his superior officers, he had spent much of the day thinking about what he could do to help the two officers proceed in their undercover roles. To begin with he had been sceptical about investigating the Blacks, thinking that what Kerry proposed was too risky and too expensive, especially with recent budget cuts and redundancies. Now, he was glad that he had listen to the young copper and take notice of Smithy's assurances that Kerry was definitely onto something with the Blacks. They had proved themselves with their good, thorough work to date, and now Jack was determined to help them secure a conviction.<p>

He wondered if it was possible for him to ask another officer at the station to go undercover at the school or among Black's gang. He could even send someone in as a corrupt officer, but finding the right man or woman from Sun Hill's ranks would be a challenge.

Jack left his desk, rubbing his throbbing temples with his fingers. What he needed was a glass of whiskey, but instead he swallowed two painkillers with some water and went off to the coffee machine. The brew at the station was pretty God awful, certainly not up to the standard of Starbucks, but the caffeine would keep him going for a little longer.

He was just about to head back upstairs to CID with what passed for a cappuccino in a polystyrene cup when he saw an officer approaching him. He looked up, checking who it was and the missing piece of the puzzle slid into place.

"PC Tait," He said, turning around so quickly that he almost slopped coffee on the linoleum.

Cameron looked up, a faint trace of panic on his face at being called upon by the DCI. Yes, he was running a little late for his shift, but it was Saturday evening after all. He should be out getting drunk and picking up a hot girl to spend the night with. He was so thrown, that he missed the bin and sent his empty brown paper coffee cup flying to the ground.

"Yes, gov."

"I'd like you to come with me. Don't worry about getting to your briefing; I think I've got another job for you to do."

Curiosity won out over his fear of being summoned by the DCI, and he followed Jack Meadows up to his office.


	21. Chapter 21: Feelings Show

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 21: Feelings Show<span>

_Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter, I really appreciate it. I hope you like this one, too! xxx_

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><p>The walk upstairs and through the bustling CID room, even on a Saturday evening, to Jack Meadows' office seemed to take an unreasonable amount of time. At least that was how it felt to Cameron Tait. He tried to think of something; anything that he had done to warrant a reprimand from the DCI. In fact, that only thing he could have done to land himself in hot water was to have interacted with Kerry and Smithy in the coffee shop. That had been less than an hour ago, and he was sure that they both had better things to do that report him. If he had thought that speaking to them would have jeopardised their cover he wouldn't have approached them. He admitted, but only to himself, that if things had been different between him and Kerry, or if she had been undercover with anyone other than Smithy, he probably would have left without even acknowledging that they were there.<p>

By the time Meadows sat down and indicated that Cameron should take the seat opposite his desk, he still had no idea why he had been summoned to the DCI's office.

"I expect you're wondering why you're here, PC Tait?"

"Yes, sir." He replied, folding his hands in his lap so that he wouldn't fidget.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Sergeant Smith and PC Young are working undercover at the moment." Cameron nodded. "They're making good progress for so early in the operation; better progress than anyone here expected or hoped for. Things are beginning to move rather swiftly and I think it's about time that we sent another officer undercover. Would you be interested?"

For a moment Cameron had no idea how to reply to this unexpected request. It could be a wonderful opportunity, it could propel him up the ranks and it would make for an interesting change from paperwork, being out on the beat and being vomited on by drinks. Yet, did he really want to give up his life and freedom for an undefined amount of time, to work on a case he wasn't really committed to and be forced to endure watching Kerry and Smithy act as a married couple?

"I would, yes." He finally replied. "But I think you should know that, until recently, Kerry Young and I were romantically involved."

Meadows did not look surprised or shocked, it wasn't like he hadn't fallen under the spell of a female colleague himself. "Will that affect your ability to do this job?"

"No, sir." Cameron replied, and in that moment his mind was made up. Kerry might not like it, but then his feelings had never mattered to her when she had thrown herself head and heart first into the case.

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><p>When Kerry and Smithy arrived back at the house it was almost time for dinner, so they pored over take-away menus in silence for a while. Once they had made their choice, Smithy rang up to place their order and Kerry went upstairs to run a bath in the main bathroom. She poured some lavender bath oil into the swirling water, and its aroma relaxed her. She turned on the Jacuzzi jets, undressed and slid into the silky hot water. Kerry lay back into the water and breathed deeply, in and out. She was startled back to reality by a knock on the bathroom door. Smithy popped his head around the door.<p>

"They're very busy, so the food won't be here for about half an hour." He said, then stopped, his mouth remaining open. Kerry was half amused and half annoyed at his slack-jawed expression. As much as he would have loved to undress and join her in the water, Smithy turned away and shut the door. If they had really been married he wouldn't have hesitated in joining her, but as it was they still hadn't discussed their previous sexual encounter.

The hot water and the gentle buzz of the jets didn't seem to be so relaxing now, and she felt frustrated more than anything. She wasn't sure how much longer she could put off having 'the talk' with him.

Twenty five minutes later the doorbell rang, and Kerry heard Smithy go to answer it. She pulled herself up out of the water, which had cooled considerably and began to dry off with a fluffy towel. Being alone with her thoughts for half an hour hadn't helped her to be any clearer about the way she felt for Smithy. As wonderful as it had been when they made love, what they had was so much more than just a sexual connection.

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><p>Despite telling her father that she would be spending the evening with her friends, Jasmine actually went to Joe's house. She knew better than to go straight there, though. Her father trusted her, at least to a certain extent, but it didn't mean he wouldn't have someone following her. She knew that she would be safe, but the same was not necessarily true for Joe. Grant Black may be finding Joe useful at the moment but it didn't mean that he'd be disappointed if the young teacher's life came to a premature end. Jasmine herself didn't know how she felt about him either, but she did know that she liked him more than anyone her own age.<p>

Grant expected his daughter to be out all night, staying over at a friends' house so she was able to spend the night at Joe's place; a rare occurrence. They hardly ever spent a whole night together, and Jasmine knew that he would not send her away. He understood that upsetting Jasmine was almost more dangerous than getting on the wrong side of her father.

With very little to trouble her, Jasmine slept the night through with her head resting on Joe's shoulder while he stared up at the ceiling, wondering once more how his life had become such a mess.

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><p>Although sharing a bed with Smithy was still awkward, Kerry found that she felt rested and serene when she awoke on Sunday morning. Leaving Smithy to sleep for a while longer, she went downstairs and began to make preparations for breakfast. She turned on the coffee maker and began to get ingredients for pancakes out of the fridge. When Smithy came downstairs, following the scent of coffee and baking, he found Kerry mixing together pancake batter with a smear of flour on her cheek.<p>

"Good morning," He said, pouring coffee into two cups and setting one near Kerry on the kitchen counter.

"Morning." She smiled, but her attention was still on the pancake batter.

"Stop." He said, taking the spoon out of her hand and pushing the mixture aside. "We have to talk."

"I know," Kerry sighed, pushing her hair back out of her face and adding more flour to it in the process.

In spite of himself, Smithy grinned. He reached out and wiped the white traces from her cheek and forehead. Kerry blushed as she realised what a mess she'd made, and sweep of colour on her cheeks made Smithy want to kiss her, even more than usual.

"What do you want Kerry?" He asked. "What do you want from us?"

She leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "I don't know, Dale. I'm so confused."

"Me too. I've liked you for ages Kerry, and I hated seeing you with Cameron but I don't know if what I feel for you now is real or if it's because we're pretending to be married." Kerry looked up at him and was about to reply when he continued to speak. "I know that this case is your priority right now, and I don't want to make you decide anything until you can think clearly, but I do want you to know that I care about you, a lot."

"I care about you, too. Breaking up with Cameron and this case, it is a lot to deal with. I love you as a friend too, and I don't want to lose that. When the case is over I promise we'll try and make a proper go of things."

"Okay," Smithy nodded. "But what about now?"

Kerry leaned up and pressed her lips to his. She didn't know, but she did know that being near him made her feel safe and happy. He kissed her back, pulling her into his arms. They stayed like that for a while, then she pulled away from his embrace.

"Now," She said, with a smile and twinkling eyes. "Now, we have pancakes."

* * *

><p>Jasmine was getting ready to leave Joe's house early the next morning, intending to make her father fulfil his promise of taking her shopping that afternoon, when she heard the doorbell ring.<p>

"Joe, someone's at the door." She called, stuffing her dress from last night back into her overnight bag. If it was her father at the door, he wouldn't have bothered with niceties such as ringing the bell.

Joe, fresh from the shower with still damp hair, went down the hallway to answer the door. He wasn't expecting anybody, and felt a strange twinge of fear in his lower abdomen.

He opened the door and was greeted by a friendly looking, smiling man whom he had never seen before in his life.

"Hi there, Joe. It's Cameron."

Before Joe could respond, Jasmine slipped past him in the corridor and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. She gave Cameron an appraising look before heading out into the street.

"Can I come in?" Cameron asked once they were alone.

"Uh, I suppose." Joe reluctantly stepped back to admit the stranger into his home.

"We have a lot to talk about, Joe."


	22. Chapter 22: Strangers, Sunday, Surprises

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 22: Strangers, Sundays and Surprises<span>

_Only a very short chapter this time, because if I hadn't cut it off here it would have been ridiculously long!_

_Thanks again for the reviews, I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy this chapter! xxxx_

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><p>Joe followed Cameron into his kitchen, feeling like a stranger in his own home as he followed the other man. Cameron sat down at the kitchen table and smiled up at Joe. It was a friendly expression but to Joe, who had never met Cameron in his life nor knew his true identity, it was more than a little disconcerting.<p>

"Can I have a coffee, please mate?" He asked, and for the first time Joe picked up on the Australian accent. None of the men he had worked with since becoming involved with the Blacks were from Australia, this relaxed him a little as he poured out a cup of coffee for Cameron. He set the coffee cup down on the table and took a seat across from Cameron, and it was only then that the stranger began to speak.

"I bet you're wondering who the hell I am, am I right?" Cameron began, blowing over the surface of his coffee to cool it.

"I am, yeah." Joe replied, something about Cameron's manner was relaxing him. "I don't even know your full name."

"Cameron Thomas." He replied, using the name he and Meadows had chosen, and extending his hand to Joe.

"Joe Harrison." He shook the hand Cameron offered. "And what are you doing here, Cameron Thomas?"

"I need your help, mate." Cameron said, the cover story already real to him. He had repeated it aloud and in his head so many times over the last twelve hours that it felt like the truth now. He began his story, retelling the events with a calm confidence, his voice and his tale drawing Joe in.

* * *

><p>Sunday passed almost normally for Kerry and Smithy. Both of them were glad that they had been able to talk about whatever it was that existed between them, and that they were both on the same page. They spent the day cleaning whatever mess they had made during the first week of living at the house and spent the late afternoon cooking a roast dinner together. It felt ordinary and natural, and if Black had been able to see them he would have had no doubts whatsoever that they were just another married going about their usual weekend routine. Both of them tried to stay out of the master bedroom as much as possible, apart from when they were asleep, but with Kerry dusting and Smithy hovering in there, it did not look as though they were avoiding the room.<p>

By the time they headed up to bed, both Kerry and Smithy felt tired enough to drift straight off to sleep. Sleeping in such close proximity to each other had become a natural part of their lives now, too.

Kerry barely had time to even feel anxious about the coming week at school, and facing both Jasmine and Joe again. Unlike the previous Sunday night at least she had some idea what to expect when she and Smithy stepped through the school gates. That didn't mean there wouldn't be any surprises waiting for them, though.

* * *

><p>Grant Black had spent the majority of his Sunday with his daughter, and his wallet was much lighter because of it. Now, with Jasmine asleep upstairs, he was able to get back to his business. Grant barely needed sleep. Four hours a night had been more than enough even since his wife had died when Jasmine was just a little girl. His hefty intake of espresso meant he was permanently alert anyway, regardless of how many hours he had slept for.<p>

Putting an empty cup in the sink, Grant quietly left the house so as not to disturb Jasmine. He was hoping for something; anything on the Joneses. Joe had been useful, and Black hoped that he'd stay that way. It would take effort and time he didn't have to silence the younger man, and he liked having Joe around to use as a bargaining chip with Jasmine. He would never let on to his daughter that he felt this way, though. In truth, Jasmine and Joe's relationship did sicken him but at the same time he was aware she could have chosen a much worse suitor. Joe's age would hopefully mean that he was a lot more responsible than boys of Jasmine's own age. He had to make sure that his daughter believed that he disapproved of their relationship though, to keep them both under his thumb.

When he arrived at the small office, Black greeted his men with nods. It smelled even worse than before; the air heavy with body odour and the sticky sweetness of a spilled soft drink.

"What have we got?" He asked Donny, turning down the offer of a weak coffee in a paper cup with the shake of his head.

"Not much, I'm afraid."

"Not much?" He questioned sharply, not taking note of the flicker of fear in Donny's even if he did witness it. "I need these two on my side, they're perfectly placed." This last comment was more Grant voicing his own thoughts aloud rather than addressing Donny and the other men.

Out of Grant's eye line, the men exchanged glances. Quiet, introspective Black was much more threatening and unpredictable than when he was full of murderous rage. In this state they had no idea what he would do next or who would bear the brunt of his suppressed anger.


	23. Chapter 23: Nervous Energy

Weapon of Choice

_Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter and I'm so sorry for taking forever to update! I've been bogged down with coursework and now I've got exams coming up! I hope you like this chapter and I'll try and update again very_ soon!  
>Warning: Some strong language in this chapter.<p>

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><p>Chapter 23: Nervous Energy<p>

Kerry had showered, dressed and eaten breakfast before Smithy had even woken up on Monday morning. She wanted to get a head start on the day, on the week, but she also hadn't been able to sleep. Once dawn had broken, the sun permeating through the curtains and the birds chirping outside, she had felt wide awake. Listening to Smithy move about upstairs, Kerry boiled the kettle again to make a cup of coffee for him and to brew some camomile tea for herself. The last thing she needed was to add caffeine to her already jangling nerves. She paced the kitchen while the kettle boiled, so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Smithy come downstairs in his dressing gown with hair still damp from his quick shower.

"Morning." He smiled, but noticed immediately that something wasn't right with Kerry. His smile faded and he moved closer to her. "Are you okay?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her.

Kerry didn't want to crumple her suit, but she didn't resist Smithy's embrace either. It felt nice to be in his arms, with her head resting against the soft material of his dressing gown.

"Just a little nervous, I'll be fine once we get to school." She told him, though she still felt disappointed when Smithy stepped away from her.

"Give me ten minutes to shave and throw on some clothes, then we can leave." He said, dropping a kiss on top of her head and heading back upstairs to their bedroom.

* * *

><p>"Jasmine!" Grant Black called up the stairs. "Jasmine, honey, you're going to be late for school."<p>

Jasmine wiped her eyes, wrapping her thick quilt tighter around her shivering frame. "I don't feel well, daddy. I think I need to stay home."

Grant sighed. As much as he hated the thought of his princess being unwell, he didn't want her getting under his feet today while he tried to work. He tramped up the stairs, not bothering to take his shoes off even though the cream carpet lining the hall, stairs and landing was new. He knocked briefly on his daughter's bedroom door, then stepped inside. Grant had to admit that she didn't look at all well. Jasmine's eyes had dark circles beneath them, her olive skin was pale and her features looked drawn.

"I think you should stay home, too. I'm just heading out, can I get you something from the pharmacy?"

Jasmine shook her head and tried to hold her tears in check. The last thing she wanted was for her father to see her cry. Rather than being sympathetic and giving her a hug like an ordinary dad, he would want to know who had upset her and would be planning revenge before she'd even finished explaining what was wrong.

"Well, if you need anything, just give me a call okay, sweetheart?"

"Thanks daddy." She replied, waiting for him to leave her room and close the door before she slipped back under the covers and gave in to her tears.

* * *

><p>The morning air was cool and crisp as Kerry and Smithy walked towards the school. Kerry felt better for being outside and getting some exercise, having Smithy by her side helped too. He was talking to her about something but she wasn't really paying attention, it was just nice to hear his voice. They said goodbye with a kiss at the gates and went off in their different directions to their respective classrooms before heading to the main hall for the morning assembly.<p>

Kerry took a seat next to the art teacher who had attended the staff get-together on Friday night. She desperately tried to remember his name as they chatted about their weekends. She was quite relieved when the Headmaster stood up and called the room to attention. While he gave out notices, Kerry scanned the room and spotted Joe Harrison sitting a few places away from Smithy but there was no sign of Jasmine. Perhaps she was just late or had a medical appointment, but still Kerry couldn't shake a slight feeling of uneasiness.

She had to put aside her doubts and worries as the assembly came to an end and the students filed out of the main hall. She and Joe had a busy morning of teaching ahead of them and it didn't give her much of chance to think about anything other than the literature and plays they were studying. It was frustrating that the Lower Sixth Form students didn't have English lessons on a Monday because Kerry was desperate to ask Joe about Jasmine's absence but had no real reason too. Smithy had told her at break time that Jasmine had not been in his football skills session and none of the other students knew where she was either.

* * *

><p>At lunchtime Joe Harrison searched frantically for his mobile phone. He had also noticed that Jasmine wasn't in school today, but wasn't about to arouse anybody's suspicions by enquiring about her absence. He didn't have a lesson with her year group on Monday so it would seem strange for him to ask her about her when many of the other members of staff would have had classes with her today. Kerry Jones already knew that his relationship with Jasmine was more than just a usual one between student and teacher, and he couldn't risk anybody else finding out.<p>

Joe checked his jacket pocket for the sixth time before remembering that he had left it on the kitchen table before leaving for work this morning. Having a house guest; a house guest who had been a stranger before this weekend, had thrown him out of routine.

Joe rubbed at the headache that was beginning to throb at his temples and let out a sigh, he supposed he would have to wait until the end of the school day to find out where Jasmine was and if she was alright.

* * *

><p>"Good day?" Smithy asked as he and Kerry made their way out of the school grounds later that afternoon.<p>

She pulled a face at him in response. Yet, it had been a good day in essence but they had made zero progress with the case and still had no idea why Jasmine wasn't at school or where she had been all day.

"That good, huh?" Smithy asked with a wry smile. He had slung his arm around Kerry's slender shoulders before he even realised what he was doing. "Sorry." He apologised, pulling his arm back to his side.

"It's okay." Kerry said softly, missing his touch as soon as it was gone.

They walked back to the house in silence. Smithy tried several times to engage Kerry in conversation but it became obvious to him that her attention was elsewhere. She chewed on her nail as they walked, wondering what they were going to tell DCI Meadows during their video call with him that evening.

* * *

><p>Cameron pulled off his latex gloves with a snap and stuffed them into the pocket of his jeans. He had been through Joe's apartment with a fine tooth comb whilst the other man was at work. It seemed that Joe lived an ordinary life of a single bachelor, or at least he had until he had become involved with Jasmine Black and her father. He couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not. He would feel a lot better about using Joe as a pawn if the man was morally bad. He had checked the other man's laptop and hadn't found anything incriminating nor particularly embarrassing. His bookshelves were stacked with fiction novels, classic literature and a few autobiographies of authors or sportspeople. Cameron found a few photograph albums of family members and some school yearbooks, with pictures of a much younger Joseph Harrison.<p>

Feeling disheartened at not having found anything, Cameron went into the kitchen and boiled the kettle. He stretched out the muscles in his back as the kettle boiled, but was interrupted by the insistent pressing of the doorbell.

Cameron felt as though his nervous system had been wired into the electricity. He told himself repeatedly that he was prepared for this as he moved toward the window at looked out at the street, trying to spot who the caller was. He expected Grant Black and suppressed a shudder as he imagined how their exchange would go. Cameron was wrong though, although his guess wasn't far off. It wasn't Grant Black at Joe's front door, it was his daughter Jasmine.

Feeling a mixture of relief and a hefty measure of concern, Cameron went to the door with a fake grin plastered on his face.

"G'day," He said, exaggerating his accent.

Jasmine looked at him with a mixture of confusion and hostility. "Who are you?"

"I'm Cameron, I'm a friend of Joe's. Who are you?"

"Jasmine." She replied, looking around Cameron as if she expected to see Joe appear at any moment.

"Where's Joe?"

"He's not home, yet. Can I take a message for him?"

"Tell him to check his fucking phone." Jasmine shouted, close to tears again.

"Oh, you're the one who's been ringing him all day?" Cameron had turned Joe's phone off when it had rung for about the fifteenth time. He had been tempted to answer it but didn't think Joe would appreciate it. He wasn't particularly happy about having him to stay, nor his reasons for staying, and Cameron knew he had to proceed carefully with Joe in case the English had second thoughts. "He left his phone behind this morning."

"Fuck's sake." Jasmine muttered, running her hands through her already mussed dark hair. She looked at her watch and frowned. "He should be home by now."She said more to herself than to Cameron, then she looked at him. "Can I come in and wait?"

"I suppose so." Cameron replied, but Jasmine was already pushing passed him and heading for the small kitchen as if she owned the place.

Cameron rolled his eyes and following her, wondering what he had gotten himself into by signing up to be part of this undercover operation.


	24. Chapter 24: Revelations

**Weapon of Choice**  
><strong><span>Chapter 24: Revelations<span>**

****  
><em>Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter! xx<em>

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><p>Joe hurried out of his classroom at the end of the school day, wanting to get home as quickly as possible so he could be reunited with his mobile phone and find out where Jasmine had been all day. He hated to admit how worried he was about her because he was already scared enough of his feelings for her. When he had first started teaching at a high school he never would have believed that he'd become romantically involved with one of his students let alone fall in love with one. He pushed away the idea that he might love Jasmine because he knew that could get him into even more trouble than he was already in. Joe accepted that he and Jasmine would never be able to have a normal, happy relationship when her father was a respected and terrifying criminal mastermind. If he had known about Grant Black before he had become involved with Jasmine he would have re-thought their relationship, but he wasn't sure he would have been afforded that choice. He was beginning to realise that the Blacks got what they wanted regardless of anyone else's feelings.<p>

On his way out of the main school building he heard someone calling his name and realised, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, that the Headmaster was approaching him. If Derek found out that Joe was involved with his pupil then he could kiss his career and his reputation goodbye. He knew enough of the law to know that what he was doing was illegal. He might not have started sleeping with Jasmine until after she had turned sixteen but as her teacher he was still in a position of responsibility.

"Joe, can I have a word?" Derek asked.

Joe swallowed the lump in his throat and faced the Head. "Of course." He was aware that his palms were sweating and that his heart rate had increased but managed not to notice that Derek was actually smiling.

"I just wanted to know how you were getting on with Kerry as your new teaching assistant."

Joe let out a sigh of relief, realising that he was letting his guilty conscious cloud his judgement. He smiled now too, and gave a glowing report of Kerry as quickly as he possibly could so he could go and track down Jasmine.

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><p>It wasn't until Joe arrived back home that he remembered he had a house guest. He unlocked the front door and stepped inside, hoping that Cameron would be out. The sound of voices coming from the kitchen told Joe that he definitely wasn't alone and he didn't know whether to be relieved or not when he noticed that one of the voices was female. He walked into the room and saw Cameron and Jasmine sat at opposite ends of the kitchen table with mugs of tea between them.<p>

They both looked up when Joe entered the room, and he could see anger in Jasmine's eyes but the usual spark had gone from her.

"I've been trying to call you all day, Joe!" She moaned, and Joe was shocked to see that she was close to tears. He was certain he had never seen Jasmine cry before.

"Sorry, I left my phone at home this morning. What's wrong?"

"Can we talk in private?"

Cameron sensed that this was his cue to leave. He walked out of the kitchen, but hovered close enough so that he could hear their conversation.

"What's up, Jasmine?" Joe asked, taking the seat opposite her which Cameron had just vacated. He watched wide eyed as Jasmine wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"I think I'm pregnant, Joe."

From his hiding place, Cameron was barely able to suppress his gasp. Meadows was going to want to hear about this.

* * *

><p>After dinner Kerry and Smithy booted up the laptop and signed on to video call with Meadows. Kerry was still disappointed by their lack of progress and hated that they had nothing of any value to share with Meadows this evening. Their progress on Friday night was beginning to feel like it had been a lucky coincidence.<p>

"Evening," Meadows greeted, setting his paper cup of coffee out of view of the web camera.

Kerry and Smithy returned the greeting, the former much less enthusiastically than the latter.

"How was your day?"

Kerry and Smithy exchanged a look. "Not as fruitful as we hoped." Smithy supplied when Kerry didn't speak.

"Well, I've just heard some interesting news. It sounds like our Mr Harrison has impregnated Black's daughter."

Smithy stared at the screen, his mouth open in shock while Kerry's reaction was livelier.

"What? Where did you hear this?" She demanded, but couldn't deny that it would perfectly explain why Jasmine hadn't been at school today.

"From the girl herself," Meadows replied. "The two of you have been making good progress but to stop the powers that be from pulling the plug on this operation, I had to make some changes to speed the process along. I've brought in another officer to work undercover. You could say that he's been doing a good job."

"Who is this officer?" Kerry demanded, not giving Smithy a chance to speak.

"PC Tait."

It took all of Kerry's self control not to plant her first into the laptop screen. All of those summer months she had spent researching the Black family while Cameron moaned that she was neglecting him, and now he was part of the operation and having more success than them. She felt Smithy's hand on her arm and she tried to accept the comforting gesture rather than push him away.

"We talked about the fact that you and he had a romantic involvement, Kerry, but he insisted that it wouldn't be a problem for him. I trust that it would be a problem for you either." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yes, sir. It won't be a problem." She replied through gritted teeth, feeling a headache begin to throb at her temples.

"And what exactly is Cameron's role?" Smithy asked. "Neither of us saw him at the school today."

Meadows shuffled the papers in front of him. "Cameron is currently staying with Joe, and they are giving the pretence of being old friends from college. Joe knows that Cameron is aware of his involvement with Grant Black and is helping him to break his ties with Black."

"Joe bought that?" Kerry asked.

Meadows nodded. "Harrison is scared. His job is at risk, as his reputation and most likely his life if he doesn't continue to obey Black. This latest development, Jasmine's supposed pregnancy, could make things even more difficult for Harrison."

They both nodded. "What's our next move, sir?"

"Carry on as you are, for now. We'll see what other intelligence Cameron comes with, but Kerry, I'd like you to try and get Joe to confide in you, too. The two of you have a better connection that he was with Cameron, and you can use that to your advantage."

They nodded again, and Meadows brought the video conference to an end. When they had logged off, Kerry and Smithy sat staring at each other in silence for quite a few minutes.

"I can't believe that out of a station full of officers it is Cameron who ends up involved. He made it perfectly clear that I should be concentrating on him more than the case when I was deep in research this summer."

Smithy stood up and moved to stand behind Kerry, rubbing his hands over her neck and shoulders in a soothing massage. It was all she could do not to surrender to his touch. She needed to stay focused and he was her biggest distracted. Now that Cameron was involved in the operation she would have to be even more careful.

"Cameron is a good officer, and even if he does have luck on his side, he is doing a good job so far."

"Whose side are you on?" Kerry demanded, turning around to look at him.

"Yours. Always." He replied, flashing a grin that melted her resolve. His hands went to work again and she sighed, giving in and letting herself relax.

After a few minutes she pulled away though. "Stop."

"What's wrong? Smithy's expression was half confusion and half hurt.

"Nothing." She said, with a weak smile as she went into the kitchen for a glass of water to get herself under control. It wasn't just the news of Cameron's involvement in the mission that had shaken her up; it was the natural intimacy she had just experienced with Smithy.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure?" Joe asked for what felt like the fiftieth time. "It couldn't be a false positive?"<p>

"I don't know Joe!" She pushed her hair out of her face with an exasperated motion. "I'm more than a week late and the two pregnancy tests I took were both positive. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow, and then I'll know for sure."

Joe rubbed his hands over his face, it had been two hours since Jasmine had first dropped the bombshell yet the news still hadn't sunk in.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

She looked at him like he was an idiot. "Oh yes, I really want my English teacher to come with me."

"Jasmine," He paused, waiting for the storm in her eyes to die a little. "What are we going to do if you really are pregnant?" Joe wanted kids, he always had but he wanted to wait until he was married to the love of his life. He had always been careful in his sexual relationships with women, but then no one those had been like what he had with Jasmine. He sent up a prayer to a God he didn't believe in that Jasmine wasn't actually pregnant; that maybe it was a stunt set up by her master manipulator of a father but part of him knew that he was just deluding himself. Usually he was cool and calm in a crisis but then he had never encountered a situation like this before. As much as he wanted children, he didn't want to have a baby with Jasmine Black but he knew, at the end of the day, his opinion would count for very little.


	25. Chapter 25: Patience

**Weapon of Choice**

**Chapter 25: Patience**

****_Thanks so much for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter! xxx_

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><p>It was hard for Kerry not to say anything to Joe about Jasmine the next day. The news had shocked Kerry so much that she didn't think she could talk to the teacher about the teenager without giving away that she knew the truth. Kerry had expected Joe to be more careful where Jasmine was concerned so that they could have avoided a situation like this. If he was as careless about other aspects of his relationship with her as he was about contraception it was something of a miracle that no one else, apart from Jasmine's father obviously, had found out about them. Kerry accepted that she had to give Joe the benefit of the doubt, as Jasmine was a skilled manipulator like her father, but she couldn't see what the teenager hope to gain by becoming pregnant with Joe's baby. She certainly didn't seem like the maternal type. How could you, if it really was true, kill someone else's child and months later conceive one of your own? It was also possible that Jasmine was lying about the pregnancy to gain further leverage over Joe but it already seemed to Kerry that the girl had more than enough control over the teacher as it was. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, Kerry acknowledged that Cameron's position in the operation might help them out. She just wished it was any other officer who was undercover with them.<p>

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><p>Joe's mind wasn't on the job at all the next day and if it wasn't for the fact that Cameron was staying with him, he would have called in sick and spent the day at home. He didn't care how it might have looked to anyone else, he was too preoccupied by the sick feeling in his stomach every time that he thought about Grant finding out his daughter was pregnant. He knew that once Grant knew about the situation, Joe wouldn't be alive to see Jasmine second trimester let alone the baby's birth. He supposed he could try and persuade Jasmine to run away with him to some far flung place but he had no doubt that Black possessed the resources to hunt them down wherever they went. There was no guarantee that Jasmine would even want to leave her father, or if she even loved Joe.<p>

Worrying about Jasmine's absence from school the previous day and then learning about her condition meant that he had very little time to think about the real reason why Cameron was staying with him. He needed time to think about everything, to find the best course of action. He knew that getting out of the mess his life had turned into would not be easy and that Cameron's way out seemed to be the only scenario that would provide him with some semblance of a normal life. This way forward would also be the one that called for the most courage and strength of character. It also meant that he may never seen Jasmine, or his unborn child, ever again. It might also mean that Jasmine would give birth to his baby behind bars.

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><p>Grant Black was beginning to feel beyond frustrated as the situation refused to progress in the way that he wanted it to. Joe had carried out every move he had asked of him so far, like a well placed pawn on a chessboard. He had thought that the Jones couple would be as easy to manipulate but he was being proved wrong. Though if they had fallen in with him too quickly Black acknowledge that he would have been suspicious of them. The Joneses were perfectly placed to help him with the next phase of his operation but he needed to make another move to push them into cooperating with his plans. Getting Joe to organise the get together at the pub last Friday night had been too subtle a move but at least he had been able to interact with them face to face. He needed to speak with Joe as soon as the school day was over; he needed to put a strategy in place to draw the Jones couple in hook, line and sinker.<p>

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><p>When Joe arrived home from the school he was relieved to find that his house was blissfully free of guests both welcome and unwelcome. He kicked off his shoes, loosened his tie and threw himself down on the bed. He didn't attend to take a nap, he just wanted a few minutes of peace. Whether he intended to or not, sleep claimed him anyway, his brain and body needing to catch up with the restless nights he had suffered recently.<p>

Joe's dream was vivid and disturbing, full of bright colours and loud noises. The image was fractured and made little sense, but he clearly saw a heavily pregnant Jasmine Black wielding a knife with a shiny blade, Grant leering with a Cheshire cat smile and Kerry Jones. Kerry's long blonde hair flowed in ringlets down her back and she wore a dark red dress with a slit up the side and a low cut neckline.

"Joe." He heard her murmur as she descended upon him, pressing her lips to his and loosening the straps on her dress.

Joe jumped awake, startled by the shrill ringing of the telephone and the strange working of his subconscious. He had only just found out that his teenage girlfriend was pregnant, so why was he having a fantasy dream about another woman? A married woman nonetheless.

His heart still pounding, Joe reached for the phone and grimaced when he saw the name on the display.

"Mr Black, what can I do for you?"

"I've got a little job for you Joe, don't screw it up." He proceeded to give Joe the details, but the younger man was preoccupied by one question: did Grant know about Jasmine's pregnancy yet?

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><p>"I hope Cameron is having more lucky than us." Kerry mumbled grudgingly as she and Smithy arrived back at the house laden with bags of groceries.<p>

The operation was much more important to her than just a collar and, although it would hurt her pride, she would still be satisfied if it was Cameron who made the job a success. Getting justice for Kathryn was more important to Kerry than getting glory for herself.

"Kerry, it has only been ten days, we need more time, that's all." Smithy soothed as they set their shopping down in the kitchen.

"Time is what we don't have." She stated, putting the groceries away with more force than was necessary. "I'm going to have to something myself soon if things don't start to move more quickly." She continued, more to herself than to Smithy. For a brief moment her thoughts strayed to the camera upstairs.

Smithy watched her with a worried expression on his face. He knew how much this meant to her and that there was nothing that would stand in her way. It was what he loved most about her, but also what scared him the most.


	26. Chapter 26: Restless

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 26: Restless<span>

_Thanks for the reviews and sorry for taking so long to update! I hope you like this chapter.  
>This chapter is dedicated to Amy (LightSpirit) for graduating from university, congratulations! :D xx<em>

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><p>Smithy went upstairs to shower after they had eaten dinner. Today had mainly involved him teaching football skills and it had left him feeling tired and sweaty. When he came back downstairs about a quarter of an hour later, clean and refreshed, he found Kerry asleep on the sofa. She was curled up, blonde hair splayed across a cushion and a paperback book resting on her chest.<p>

Smithy smiled, picking up the book and placing the bookmark inside it. He reached for the blanket that was folded over the back of the sofa and covered Kerry's sleeping form with it. He pushed the hair away from her forehead and placed a kiss to the soft skin there. He wasn't pretending now; wasn't just playing the role of Kerry's undercover husband.

He took a seat in the arm chair and switched the television on, but keeping the volume at a very low level. He had turned it on during the news broadcast and the sports report was currently on, so Smithy watched to see how his beloved West Ham were faring in the football league. When the sports news ended there was a repeat of the day's top stories throughout the country but nothing caught Smithy's attention; there was nothing that seemed to be related to Grant Black and his operations in any way just the usual economic fears and the death of yet another young soldier overseas. When the national newsreaders handed the broadcast over to their local counterparts, Smithy began to pay closer attention. A few uninteresting news items about planning permission and hospital closures passed by before Dale was sucked in completely.

Footage of the school gates, which had become very familiar to Smithy over the last few weeks, but in these video clips a blanket of bouquets and teddy bears could be seen on the ground. The camera panned in close, showing the heartfelt messages of grief and sorrow at the violent passing of Kathryn Walker. The sober faced newsreader was explaining that tomorrow would have been Kathryn's eighteenth birthday and still the true circumstances surrounding the teenager's death remained a mystery.

Smithy debated waking Kerry up so that she could watch this too, but he was sure that she was already aware that it was Kathryn's birthday the next day. He didn't think this broadcast would help her at all. Kerry was still the officer most dedicated to avenging Kathryn's death and giving her parents the closure they so desperately deserved. He hoped that this renewed attention to Kathryn's case wouldn't make Kerry doing anything foolish or dangerous.

Once the news had finished, Smithy turned the television off again and considered going upstairs to sleep himself. He was yawning now and finding it quite hard to keep his eyes open. He was awake enough though to realise that it would look strange to whoever was watching him if only he slept in their double bed tonight. He walked over to the sofa and bent down, taking Kerry's smaller, lighter frame in his arms. Still in the clutches of sleep, Kerry's arms subconsciously wrapped around Smithy's neck to anchor herself to him. He made his way slowly up the stairs with Kerry in his arms, and then set her down gently on the bed.

Kerry smiled sleepily up at him, the journey up the stairs having roused her from her sleep, but only a little. She moved her hands from his neck to frame his face, her fingers tracing the light dusting of stubble on his jaw.

Smithy tried to move away from her but it was half hearted attempt. He let her pull his face closer to hers and accepted, and returned, the soft, sweet kiss that she gave him. An all too familiar ache seized him and it took all of his strength to pull away and tuck the duvet around her as sleep claimed her again.

Despite his exhaustion, it took Smithy a long time to sleep that night.

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><p>Sleep didn't visit Joe until late that night either. Cameron had tried to persuade him that they should go out drinking, but Joe had declined. As welcoming as the idea of drowning his troubles in alcohol seemed, Joe knew he needed to keep his wits about him even, or especially, in Cameron's presence. Besides, Joe had a lot think about and decide on.<p>

At present the most pressing issue on his mind was Jasmine and the pregnancy. If Black found out Joe wasn't sure that he would be around long enough to worry about his other concerns. As hard as he tried to think about Jasmine, the baby, and Cameron and Grant's demands, it was Kerry Jones who kept invading his thoughts. It wasn't until he realised how he had helped to endanger Kerry and her husband that he had begun to feel something for her. Maybe he had been wrong to think that Jasmine was what he really wanted, when really he needed a real woman like Kerry. Did he continue to let the Joneses become involve with Grant, or did he bargain for Kerry's life in exchange for Dale's services to the Blacks? He wasn't sure that Grant would agree to that anyway, not when Joe was supposed to be in love with his daughter and it was their forbidden relationship that had dragged him into this whole mess to begin with.

It was all too much to think about and he was no closer to making a decision. It led to hours of tossing and turning in his sheets until he lay tangled and wide awake. He was scared to sleep because he couldn't trust what, or who, he might dream about and as soon as he fell asleep morning would arrive, and he would have to face the day. It was not one that he was looking forward to.

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><p>Grant Black enjoyed having a staff to take care of all the little details of his day to day life, but that did not mean he was neither a perfectionist nor a control freak. There were some things he insisted on doing for himself even if they did seem mundane and inconsequential. That was why, at five o'clock on a rainy October morning; Grant was sitting in a darkened van at the docks. The hands of his designer watch glowed faintly as the minutes slowly ticked by. Another half an hour passed and Grant was beginning to get restless, soon it would be getting light and he would have to hand the reins over to another of his men for fear of being apprehended with a case of imported knives in his possession. If one of his men was found with them it would be an inconvenience but not a disaster. His men would rather serve a handful of years in prison that have to face his wrath. That was certainly the case where his daughter's teacher was concerned.<p>

Grant had seen little of his daughter lately. With all of the plotting and planning he had been doing, he'd been too busy to spend much quality time with her. Something seemed different about her though, he had noticed. Jasmine had always had a volatile personality but she seemed less angry of late but his moods were more changeable. Teenage girls weren't his area of expertise but he could tell that something was off. If he found out that she was upset because of something her teacher had or hadn't done, Grant Black would make sure that Jasmine was the last female Joe Harrison ever touched.

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><p>Kerry and Smithy walked to school in almost complete silence the next morning. Both of them were lost in their thoughts, but their thoughts differed considerably. Kerry was thinking about Kathryn Walker and what, if she were alive, the teenager would be doing to celebrate turning eighteen and coming of age. Her life had been extinguished senselessly and much too early. Her heart broke for what Laura and John Walker must be feeling this morning. Smithy wasn't thinking about the case at all, although he too was depressed and sad for the Walkers. Smithy's thoughts were firmly on the blonde woman who walked by his side but may as well have been miles away from him. She had kissed him last night, simply and sweetly, but it had still be a kiss charged with passion. It had made his insides melt and his pulse quicken, but they had not spoken on if. Kerry hadn't mentioned it, and although she had other things on her mind, he could help being hurt by that. Unless she didn't remember? He looked across at her, a faraway look in her blue eyes signifying that she was still absorbed in her own thoughts, and realised that was the truth; Kerry simply did not remember the kiss they had shared.<p>

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><p>Joe was full of nervous energy that morning, and Kerry was concerned that his behaviour was bordering on the manic. Had Black found out that his daughter was pregnant with Joe's child? Was Joe fearing for his life? There were so many questions that Kerry wanted to ask him but she couldn't for fear of arousing his suspicions. It had already surprised her today that Joe had been absent during the extended morning assembly that was held in Kathryn's memory. Jasmine's own absence had not been a surprise to Kerry, but it made her feel sick to her stomach to think that they had been together during the assembly. The part of her that believed Joe was a good person grew smaller with each passing day.<p> 


	27. Chapter 27: Coincidences and Lies

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 27: Coincidences and Lies<span>

_Sorry for the lack of updates (again!) blame coursework and exams. Also sorry for any typos in this chapter too! Hope you enjoy it and thanks for your reviews! xxx_

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><p>When Kerry and Smithy arrived home from the school they found a small stack of post on the doormat. Most of the items of post were bills, which were sent to the house to keep up appearances of them being a real married couple living a normal life. Amongst the bills and junk mail was an envelope of thicker, more expensive paper. The address was handwritten in a fancy calligraphic style, and Kerry and Smithy exchanged a glance of mutual confusion and intrigue as they examined it.<p>

"Open it," Kerry urged, knowing that if she opened it herself her shaking fingers would rip it.

"Alright, alright!" Smithy took the envelope from her and quickly slit it open, placing the paper inside on the kitchen table so they both could read it.

"Fancy," Kerry breathed when she saw it was an invitation and took notice of the crimped edges and gold embossing of the paper.

"Why does Black want to invite us to something like this?" Smithy asked, after they had both read it through twice. "He knows that we're just lowly comprehensive school teachers."

"Maybe it's a test?" Kerry replied. "Maybe he's reeling us in like he did with Joe, and who knows how many other people?"

"Well, we are going, right?" Smithy asked, still looking distastefully at the part of the invitation where it stated that the attendees must dress in black tie formal wear.

Kerry rolled her eyes. "Of course. This could be it; this could be what breaks the case wide open."

"It says we have to dress in formal wear. That means we'll have to go shopping before Saturday night."

Kerry almost laughed at Smithy's downcast expression. "We'll put it on the station's expense account." She told him, but it didn't seem to cheer him up. Kerry herself could not be more excited about Saturday evening, they had made small cracks in the case so far but this could be what broke the whole thing wide open.

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><p>Jasmine had attended school as little as possible that week. Occasionally showing up for her classes but not staying a minute longer than she had to. She had even avoided Joe as much as she could, she didn't know what to say to him. She didn't want this baby; his baby but she didn't want to abort it either. They wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from her father forever, either. If she had really loved Joe she might have suggested they run away together, somewhere out of her father's reach but she didn't want to alienate herself from her only real family.<p>

Jasmine spent most of her time sitting in her room, dressed in baggy tracksuit bottoms and warm jumpers. She was grateful that it was autumn so that she had an excuse to hide in shapeless outfits. Her father hadn't been around too much lately to notice that she hadn't been behaving the same way as usual, but if he had she would have told him it was simply her time of the month because that always brought conversations between them to an abrupt close.

She had avoided her sports lessons at school, not wanting to do anything that might harm the baby and she also hadn't want to see Mr Jones. Jasmine wondered why she couldn't find someone more like him; someone who loved his wife the way that he seemed to love Mrs Jones. Joe told her that he loved her, but Jasmine knew that he was afraid of both her and her father. If Joe didn't feel obligated to stay with Jasmine and keep her happy, would they even still be together?

She was sitting on her bed with the TV playing a music channel quietly in the background and a cup of tea in her hand when the cramps started. She almost screamed as the pain was so excruciating that it took her breath awa

"Oh no, oh no." She said softly, holding her stomach and running toward the bathroom.

When she flushed the toilet, she crossed the room and began to run herself a bath. She didn't know, nor care, that taking a bath after a miscarriage was not recommended. Jasmine undressed and lowered herself into the bath, a slow smile spreading across her lips as she succumbed to the soothing warm water and an overwhelming sense of relief.

* * *

><p>Now that he was getting more and more ingrained into the operation, it wasn't safe for Cameron to go to the station to be briefed by Meadows. They couldn't risk someone following Cameron, it could ruin all of the months of hard work and preparation that had gone into the undercover operation. Joe's flat was empty during the day whilst he was teaching at the school so Cameron was able to set up his laptop and surely connect to the same video conferencing programme that Kerry and Smithy also used to speak directly with Meadows. He checked on a regular basis if a camera had been hidden in Joe's apartment the same one had been installed in Kerry and Smithy's bedroom, but it seemed that Black already had enough control over Joe without needing to watch his every move too.<p>

"Cameron, how is it going?" The detective chief inspector asked when he and the Australian PC were face to face, albeit across two computer screens.

"Black has arranged a gathering on Saturday night, some kind of classy function. Kerry and Smithy are invited too. Joe doesn't seem to know too much about it, but Black has him doing a lot of work and preparation for it."

Meadows nodded. "Is Joe prepared to testify against Black once we finally have enough to arrest him?"

"I'm working on it," Cameron replied. "He's afraid. He's afraid that Black will still manage to get to him even if he's behind bars and Joe is in witness protection. Jasmine's pregnancy isn't helping matters, though."

"We can't offer her witness protection, not if Kerry is right and it was Jasmine who stabbed Kathryn Walker."

"I'll keep working on him. Hopefully something will happen on Saturday night that will move the case along."

"Keep me informed." Meadows said, preparing to sign off but before he severed their connection, he added: "Good work, Cameron."

Cameron smiled as he closed down the laptop, maybe when this case was over he would be offered a transfer to CID. It hadn't been a dream of his when he'd first become a copper, but now he'd happily settle for a more desk based job over chasing delinquent youths and having tramps vomit on his shoes. Getting through this case would be the hard part, though. He hadn't seen either Kerry or Smithy since Meadows had asked him to be part of the investigation and he was concerned about their reactions. He had been far less than supportive over the summer months when Kerry had blown him off time and again to spent time poring over the case. More than one he had accused her of being more interested in Kathryn Walker and the Blacks than she was in having a relationship with him. It had taken dedication and Smithy's help to convince their superior officers that the case was worth pursuing and now, almost by accident, Cameron had a key role in the undercover operation. If he was in Kerry's shoes, or Smithy's, he would have been angry too.

* * *

><p>When Grant arrived home, feeling much more optimistic about everything in general, he found Jasmine in the kitchen eating pizza out of a takeaway box.<p>

"Hi darling," He greeted her, feeling a surge of real, genuine emotion as he kissed her cheek.

"Hi daddy," She replied sweetly, though she scowled when he stole a slice of pizza.

"How was your day?" Grant asked, but it was obvious to Jasmine that he really wanted her to ask him about his own day.

"It was fine, boring; the usual." She lied, waving the hand that held a slice of pizza in the air in a careless gesture.

"Have you made any plans for Saturday night?" He asked, sucking tomato sauce from his fingers.

Jasmine shook her head. The only plans she had made involved alcohol, knowing that now she didn't have the baby to think about she could drink as much as she pleased.

"Excellent. I'm throwing a party for some friends and I want you to be there." Sensing that Jasmine was about to protest, he added. "Don't worry Joe will be there, too."

Jasmine had not had any contact with Joe since she had miscarried and she had no intention of telling about it either. The more scared Joe was of her father, the more fun it was to be around him.

* * *

><p>On Thursday the local shopping centre was open until later in the evening. Kerry dragged a reluctant Smithy away from the West Ham game on television and they went in search of outfits for Saturday night. Despite the fact that the station would be footing the bill for whatever they chose to buy, Smithy would only rent a suit. Kerry rolled her eyes and left him to try on suits while she headed up to the next floor of the department store. She browsed the racks of dresses for a while and picked out a few different styles and colours. She walked towards the fitting rooms with the dresses tucked under her arm only to make a quick turn when she caught sight of someone she recognised. Kerry thought she had been covert enough not to get caught.<p>

"Mrs Jones!" She spun around again, not even realising how natural it was to be called by and answer to that name now. If someone had called out 'PC Young' she probably would have ignored them as it seemed so long ago that anyone had referred to her that way.

"Hello Jasmine," Kerry replied with what she hoped was a polite, pleasant smile.

"Are you buying a dress for Saturday night?" Jasmine asked. "My dad said that he had invited you and Mr Jones."

"Yeah, we're really looking forward to it." It wasn't a lie, not really. Kerry was looking forward to the fact that the evening may result in at least one arrest and the end of her undercover life as the married teaching assistant. She hadn't thought too hard about what would happen personally rather than professionally when the operation came to a close. She knew she would miss Smithy after sharing such close quarters with him, but she wasn't ready to examine how much she would miss and, more importantly, why.

"I'm going to be there, too." Jasmine held up the black dress she had just tried on. "I think it will be a great night!"

Kerry smiled back. "Yes, I think it will. Now, I'd better go and try this on."

They said goodbye and Kerry went into one of the cubicles, pulling the thick curtain closed after her. Rather than undressing, Kerry pulled her mobile phone from her pocket and composed a text message to Smithy. The reply from him was almost instant, Smithy knew that Jasmine was there because he had just met Grant Black in the men's section.

As Kerry slipped out of her clothes and into one of the dresses, she couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't too much of a coincidence that on the very same evening she and Smithy had decided to go shopping that Black and his daughter were in exactly the same store? Grant could afford much more than the prices of the dresses in this department store. Was the camera in the bedroom back at their house only one of the ways that Black was keeping an eye on them?


	28. Chapter 28: All About Tonight

Weapon of Choice  
>Chapter 28: All About Tonight<p>

_Thanks for the reviews! I should be revising but writing this chapter was a lot more fun! I hope you like it, and there will be more to come soon!_

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><p>Kerry was glad that they had the Black's party on Saturday night on the horizon because the second half of the week hadn't provided them with anything useful. Jasmine had turned up for school on Friday but had handed in a note from her father to say that she was excused from her practical P.E. lessons. The only person who knew that Jasmine was no longer pregnant was the girl herself.<p>

On Saturday morning, Kerry and Smithy talked with Meadows via video chat and he informed them that Cameron was planning to attend the function that evening too. Kerry was less than impressed and Smithy was concerned. The more undercover officers present meant there was more of a chance that something could go wrong. He desperately didn't want things to go wrong for Kerry and it would be worse still if the operation was ruined by a mistake made by Cameron. Smithy knew the case inside out, almost as well as Kerry did, but Cameron had never really shown an interest until Meadows had recruited him.

"I want you both to be careful," Meadows warned as the video chat wound to a close. He was quite proud of the progress that his two officers had made so far and as much as he wanted the operation to end in success, he was still worried for their safety.

"Yes, gov." Kerry replied instantly, knowing that it was her that Meadows was more worried about. Smithy was the rational one with the cool head out of the two of them. It wasn't that he cared less about avenging Kathryn and apprehending the Blacks, he just wasn't quite as personally connected as Kerry was. He hadn't been the one present at Kathryn's bedside when the teenage girl had tragically succumbed to her injuries.

Kerry took a long soak in the bubble bath in the master bedroom that afternoon, wanting to relax before the Black's party. She couldn't stop the surge of adrenalin through her bloodstream every time she thought about what lay ahead of them, though. Her apprehension meant that was ready hours before they needed to leave for the function. She and Smithy sat in the living room in their dressing gowns, Kerry's hair still up in curlers, drinking tea and watching the early evening news. Neither of them was giving the news broadcast their full attention, their thoughts preoccupied with the evening ahead of them.

"_Three men are being held for questioning over a shipment of illegal arms that were delivered to a London dockyard on Wednesday morning. Two of the men are in the country illegally and the other is local. So far, none of the men have been charged but are assisting the police with their enquiries."_

"Shit," Kerry exclaimed, letting the remote control slip from her hand. "If this has anything to do with Black's operations he is going to be unbelievably angry."

Smithy nodded, still staring at the television screen even though the news broadcast had now been replaced by with weather forecast.

"At least we get to see him tonight; we'll be able to see for ourselves if this is anything to do with him. He's cold and a good actor, but he won't be able to hide his emotions over something like this."

"Do you think this is why Black organised the function for tonight, because he needs new people whom he can trust?"

Kerry shrugged. "It is possible." A fresh wave of adrenalin coursed its way through her body. "Let's go and get dressed. Maybe if we get there early, we'll be able to see Black while he is on his own."

Although he did not relish having to dress up smartly in the suit he had rented, Smithy agreed with Kerry's plan.

"I'll ring the taxi company again; can you be ready in fifteen minutes?"

Kerry nodded, rushing upstairs to change into her dress and add the finishing touches to her hair and make-up.

* * *

><p>Grant Black was livid. He was typically an angry man, but usual his rage was cold. Anger made him function more sharply; made his thinking clearer but right now his vision was red. He ran a tight ship, making sure the right people carried out the jobs he needed doing so that they were carried out as efficiently as possible. He trusted few people, but those he did put his faith in he trusted implicitly. He believed he was a good judge of character, which was why situations like the one he found himself in now happened so rarely. Black couldn't even think about the function he was holding tonight. It had seemed like the most important thing when he had asked Joe Harrison to organise it. At least the people he had asked to help him with the party were less likely to royally screw things up the way his shipping crew had.<p>

On Wednesday morning, just as the dawn was breaking over London, Black had ascertained that the shipment of knives had been complete. He had entrusted the cargo with his usual group of men to be taken to the warehouse he rented, under a false identity of course. Once he had performed that duty, Black had thought little about the shipment as his part in the process was done, for now. He would be involved later when he made the deals and transactions. Instead there had been other areas of business to take care of, including organising the preparation for Saturday night and checking up on the team who were monitoring the Jones couple. On top of all of those issues, he also had his daughter and her teacher boyfriend to occupy his mind.

Another of the men, who worked for him, a young lad who received small cash payments for information, had been the one to inform Grant Black about the cock up. Trying not to stammer through teeth that chattered despite the mild October air, Jamie Goodwin had relayed how he had seen one of the vans carrying half of the shipment of knives being pulled over by a police car. Jamie seemed to think that they had been pulled over either for erratic driving or because one of the rear brake lights was smashed in. From a distance, Jamie had watched as the three men were searched and another police car drove up. One policeman waited with the van for it to be towed away whilst the two other policemen and a policewoman escorted the three men back to the police station.

Once Jamie had finished his tale, Grant had slammed his fist down on his desk so hard that his coffee mug and jumped a few centimetres in the air, and Jamie and had leapt considerably higher off his seat. He had a tremendous amount of respect for Grant Black, but the man still terrified him at times. Jamie was just grateful that, even though he was the bearer of very bad news, he was not the focus of Black's anger.

Since learning of this, Black had been busy ensuring that his operations could not be traced by the police who would surely be starting an investigation into why three men were driving around with a case full of illegal weapons early on a weekday morning. If even one of the men talked, especially the two who were in the country illegally, Black could face a whole ton of hassle that he just did not need.

He had been so distracted that he had taken even less notice of his daughter than he did usually. Even if Jasmine hadn't been hiding her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage so carefully he never would have noticed. That was why they had ended up at a department store on Thursday rather than one of the expensive boutique shops Jasmine liked so much.

Black looked at his watch, the day was getting away from him and he needed to get himself ready for the party. He made himself a double espresso and took it upstairs with him, leaving it on the bathroom window ledge whilst he showered. He hoped that tonight would be the start of some good luck for him, because he seemed to have been running low on it lately.

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><p>As he only had to put on his suit, shirt, tie and shoes, Smithy was ready first. He waited in the living room, looking out for the taxi's arrival while he waited for Kerry. He was thinking about the case and the evening ahead of him, so he didn't hear Kerry come down the stairs until he heard the click of her high heeled shoes against the linoleum kitchen floor. She pushed opened the door that connected the living room and the kitchen, and Smithy had to force his jaw not to drop open. She looked stunning. No, that was understatement. He had never seen her looking so beautiful, except perhaps that time when they had shared a shower, making love under the steamy water. Smithy pushed that thought away; this was not the time for those kinds of thoughts.<p>

"You look amazing, Kerry." He said, taking in the black high heeled shoes with their red soles, making them almost identical to Louboutins up to the floaty skirt of her red dress which tightened in the bodice to show plenty of cleavage but not enough to be indecent.

She smiled at the compliment, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.

"You don't scrub up bad yourself." She replied.

The honking of a car horn outside shattered the moment and they hurriedly gathered the few items they would be taking with them. Kerry had a small black handbag with her mobile phone and make up in it, and Smithy had his mobile phone and the house keys.

"Let's go." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door. Her anxiety and excitement was making her desperate to get to the party, no matter what my lie ahead of them that evening.


	29. Chapter 29: Champagne Supernova

**Weapon of Choice**  
><strong>Chapter 29: Champagne Supernova<strong>

****_Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it. Things will be heating up over the next few chapters! xx_

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><p>Black had been distracted and dismissive when Joe had asked him if he could bring a friend, male of course, with him to the party. Black had agreed, but Joe almost wished that he hadn't. Even if Black hadn't given his permission, Joe was sure that Cameron would find a way to be there anyway, perhaps as a barman or a server. Having Cameron there in any capacity made Joe nervous though. Although Cameron and Jasmine had had a lot of interaction recently, he did not like the idea of the Australian being in the same room as Grant Black.<p>

Joe was beginning to realise how foolish he had been to place so much trust in Cameron, but when they had first met Joe had been so desperate to escape Black's influence. That had been before Joe had found out that Jasmine was pregnant with his baby, too. Her pregnancy had changed things; changed everything. Joe wasn't sure that he was ready for fatherhood but he saw kids every day in his English classes who had been abandoned by a parent, sometimes both, and he didn't want his son or daughter to have to grow up like that. Having Grant Black as a grandfather would be bad enough.

Both he and Cameron had rented suits for the evening. Although he tried to look smart when he was teaching, Joe's wages did not cover luxury items of clothing like suits and any of the money he received from Grant he usually ended up spending on Jasmine anyway.

When he dressed in front of the bedroom mirror on Saturday afternoon, he felt like he was putting on another character not just a suit. Maybe it would give him the courage to get through the evening and whatever it was that Black had in mind for Mr and Mrs Jones.

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><p>Kerry tapped impatiently on her black leather clutch bag with her painted fingernails. It was beginning to drive Smithy crazy but he knew better than to say anything. The journey seemed long to him too, and because the taxi driver chose not to listen to the radio, he found himself watching intently as the numbers changed on the fare meter.<p>

Typically Black had chosen a venue in one of the poshest parts of London and Smithy was a little nervous that he and Kerry would not fit in. Maybe that was all part of Black's plan, to throw them off balance then offer them a lifestyle they couldn't afford until they were forced to pay him back in ways other than credit cards and cheques. If Black's intention really had been to record them having sex on the camera installed in their bedroom in order to blackmail them, Smithy didn't want to think what other lows the man would stoop to.

They finally pulled up outside the venue and Smithy paid the fare. He went around to the other side of the car to help Kerry out onto the pavement. It wasn't an easy task for her in a flowing dress and spike heels. She took his arm as they made their way towards the reception area and smiled at the absurdity of it all. This was a million miles away from the Kerry who arrested drunken men after violent nights on the town. She felt like a film star; like royalty and for a second she could almost forget why they were here and why they were here to do.

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><p>Jasmine was at the party early too simply because her father had offered her a lift. She refused to help with any of the setting up though because she didn't want to ruin her new black dress. Also her father paid people for that, he couldn't expect his own daughter to help them. She was eager to see Joe tonight, though she had no intention of telling him that she had miscarried. She hoped that he would bring along his Aussie friend too. Jasmine knew her father had invited Mr and Mrs Jones to the party, and was perceptive enough to know Grant had something in mind for them; something similar to whatever it was he had Joe doing for him.<p>

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><p>Black had hired a ballroom for the evening and Kerry was speechless as they made their way inside. They had been checked off the guest list, and Kerry had surreptitiously tried to read the other names on the list but the few she had seen were not names she recognised from her research into Black and his associates. Kerry kept her hand tucked into the crook of Smithy's arm as they made their way around the room. It was tastefully and elegantly decorated, with small tables of champagne flutes dotted around the room. Waiters stood around with silver trays of canapés, looking immaculate in their tuxedos.<p>

Smithy picked up two glasses of champagne and handed one to Kerry. Neither of them really wanted to drink alcohol tonight; they wanted to be in complete control of their actions but it seemed polite to accept a glass and it gave them something to do with their hands.

"Have you seen Black yet?" Smithy asked, leaning in close to Kerry's ear in a gesture that would seem like a naturally intimate one to an observer.

"No, but Jasmine is over there."

Smithy looked over to where Kerry was subtly gesturing with her glass. In a short black dress and high heels Jasmine Black looked much older than her seventeen years.

"Did you see if Cameron's name was on the guest list?" He asked.

She shook her head. "But we know he'll be here. If he doesn't come as a guest, he'll find some way to be here." Kerry couldn't lie to herself, she was nervous about seeing Cameron tonight. They hadn't been alone together in weeks and hadn't spoken since they had broken up over the phone. It would be awkward to say the least, and she didn't want either of their actions to draw attention to the fact that they knew each other. It was just one of the many threads in the investigation that, if pulled too tightly, could make the whole operation unravel. That would mean that Kathryn Walker's killer would go free and it could place Kerry, Smithy and Cameron's lives in serious danger.

Sensing Kerry's nervousness and knowing how uncomfortable having Cameron as part of the investigation was making her, Smithy did his best to reassure her.

"We'll keep our distance from him and maybe we can get through the whole evening without having to interact with him."

"Maybe," Kerry replied, looking distractedly around the room but grateful for the effort Smithy was making all the same. "Oh no," She said, jabbing Smithy lightly with her fingernail. He turned his attention towards the main entrance again.

Cameron was already here, chatting amiably with Joe as they made their way inside. With so few guests already in attendance at this early hour of evening, it was very likely that they would have to speak to each other. Forgetting her earlier promise not to drink any more than a few sips of champagne, Kerry took a healthy swig of her drink and squeezed Smithy's hand quickly as she watched Cameron and Joe approach.


	30. Chapter 30: Once and For All

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 30: Once and For All<span>

_Thanks again for the reviews, and once again so sorry for a delay in updates. I was so excited to write this chapter, but then the words just wouldn't come out right! Hope you like it. Reviews are loved and I'll try to update asap! xxx_

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><p>They were both relieved to see that Joe and Cameron were intercepted by other attendees of the party. Kerry turned away, gripping Smithy's arm so tightly that he was sure he would have marks on his skin from where her nails clawed at his sleeve. He hadn't been sure what her reaction would be like when she came face to face with her ex at the function. At least she had known in advance but in this case it seemed that forewarned was not necessarily forearmed.<p>

"Are you okay?" He asked in a low voice, not wanting to attract any more attention to themselves than was strictly necessary.

It would set the operation back a mile, maybe even ruin it completely but if Kerry was not feeling one hundred-percent confident about tonight he would get her out of her before she found herself in harm's way. He had no hope of being forgiven by her if he did that, but her life was more important her good opinion of him.

Kerry loosened her grip on his arm and stood up straight again, her high heeled shoes making her almost the same height as Smithy, their eyes close to being on the same level.

"I'm fine." She replied, with more conviction that she needed to, but it was enough to convince Smithy that she was back in control, at least for now.

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><p>Cameron tried not to let his eyes seek out Kerry from across the room. He didn't want anyone to know that he had prior knowledge of Kerry Young, or Jones as she was now. It was hard not to notice her though in that stunning, figure enhancing, and curve hugging red dress. The fact that he had known the body beneath it intimately not so long ago only made things harder. As did the knowledge that had he been more supportive and understanding over the summer months it could have been him in Dale Smith's place right now.<p>

He tried to be open and engaging with the people Joe introduced him to or who introduced themselves to him. He was waiting to make Grant Black's acquaintance; the man behind so much of London's unsolved crime and on-going caseload. If Jasmine was anything to go by, he assumed that her father would be someone who was also cool, calm and charming.

The case was beginning to mean more than him than just a collar now, and he was becoming fond of Joe too.

Joe was a pitiful character in a way, but he had made a mistake and was paying the consequences tenfold. If he could, Cameron would try to help Joe; help him avoid prison and perhaps help him into the witness protection programme. It would be unlikely that Joe would ever be able to teach in a school again, though. Jasmine's pregnancy would be the deciding factor for Joe, and Cameron could see that it would be an almost impossible choice for him to make. Joe really seemed to believe that he was in love with Jasmine, and that she felt the same way about him. No matter what the future held for the young teacher, Cameron couldn't help but be glad he wasn't in Joe's place.

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><p>Grant Black found himself underwhelmed by the evening so far. In his heightened state of panic over whether the police would be able to link the illegal cargo they had obtained from his men back to him, the party seemed dull in comparison and a little ridiculous. At least the Joneses had accepted their invitation, with Kerry looking particularly good. It would be a shame if he had to kill her, but maybe the two of them would be as malleable as Joe Harrison had been. The trick was to find out where someone's weak spot was; to sniff out their vulnerabilities and then use them to your advantage. This particular skill set was one that Grant Black prided himself on possessing and he had sharply honed this talent over the years. This young and somewhat naïve seeming married couple did not stand a chance against him.<p>

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><p>"Kerry, you know we can't avoid Cameron all evening, don't you?" He whispered into her ear under the pretence of reaching over shoulder for a small salmon puff from the canapé table nearby.<p>

"Of course." She replied in a snappy whisper. "Let's go and introduce ourselves if you're soon keen to meet him, darling." This last part she said a little louder, smiling brightly but falsely at the few other guests who also hovered nearby the canapés table.

Smithy felt he had no choice now and together they made their way across the room to where Cameron was standing with Joe, both of them sipping champagne in a way that suggested they'd much rather be drinking beer or perhaps whiskey.

"Hello Joe," Smithy said pleasantly, smiling at the teacher but not making eye contact with Cameron. He didn't even want to contemplate the looks that may be passing between the Australian and Kerry at this point. Cameron had been Kerry's boyfriend for quite a while and would be far from invincible to her charms, especially in that dress. He noticed that Joe's eyes had strayed to her less than subtly on a few occasions already, with a kind of strange wonder on his face. "Who's your friend?"

"Dale, Kerry, this is my friend Cameron Turner, Cameron these and Kerry and Dale Jones, they both teach at the same high school as me."

"Oh right, that's nice." Cameron shook hands with both of them, keeping his expression neutral so not to make Joe suspicious. He did not want to be the one responsible for exposing Kerry and Smithy's cover, not only would he be fishing his career with the police out of the toilet but it could put his colleagues in serious danger. There was no telling what a man like Grant Black would do if he found out that he had been fooled by false pretences.

"Excuse me a minute," Joe said, moving away from the small group when he saw Jasmine across the room. He desperately needed to see her, what he had thought was desire and perhaps love had now turned into a strong sense of protection. If he was completely honest he felt more protective of his unborn child than of Jasmine as he knew that she could take care of herself.

Jasmine's outward appearance did not show that she was pregnant in any way, but then he wasn't used to seeing her dressed up quite so nicely. She would not be mistaken for a school girl of seventeen dressed like she was tonight. Looking at her made him forget about Kerry for a little while, which was a relief. It was disturbing to see her in a red dress so similar to the one that she had been wearing in that vivid dream that still haunted him.

"Nice party," Joe said, moving in behind her shoulder. "Should you be drinking that?"

"It's cordial," She lied, taking the glass back from him before he could give it an experiment sniff.

"Oh, okay," He looked around as casually as possible to see if Grant was nearby. "How are…things?"

"Fine," She replied, not looking at him. "Everything is fine."

"Did you get a due date?"

Jasmine was uncomfortable and Joe's attention was beginning to be annoying. If she told him she had miscarried he would only be more suffocating. Also, her leverage would be gone.

"I don't want to talk about here; not now when anyone might overhear us." She hissed, grateful for the excuse to put off having this conversation.

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><p>"This is classy, isn't it?" Cameron said when the three of them were alone. He seemed to be completely at ease, with a glass of champagne in one hand as he leaned against the wall behind him. Out of nowhere Smithy felt an uncontrollable surge of rage. How dare Cameron waltz in here and act so casually when he and especially Kerry had put months of blood, sweat and tears into this operation. His temper was close to boiling point and he wondered how Kerry was able to mask her own rage so well. Maybe it was because she was feeling a totally different sort of emotion at coming face to face with her ex-boyfriend.<p>

"It's nice, yeah." Kerry replied, but she didn't look at him. She focused on swirling the champagne around her glass; she had barely touched a drop but now desperately wanted to down the contents in one gulp. It wouldn't help, but it might make this situation just a little less awkward.

"I have to say something to you, Kerry," Cameron began in a low voice, but when Smithy did not choose to take the hint and move away, he carried on regardless. "I want to apologise for being so unsupportive when you took on this…I'm sorry."

If he had expected to be forgiven; for Kerry to accept his apology and forget about how their relationship had suffered, which had been both of their faults, Cameron was wrong.

Anger flashed in Kerry's blue eyes. "Would you still be saying that if you weren't here tonight with a front row seat to the action, Cameron?"

"Kerry…"

"I think you've said enough for tonight, eh?" Smithy used the softest, most diplomatic tone he could muster, but his words were clipped with barely suppressed anger.

"This is none of your business, stay out of it!" Cameron replied, taking a step closer to Smithy who had put his arm around Kerry's waist in a protective gesture. Cameron's mind was plagued with images of them living in the same house, sharing the same bed and he saw red. He lunged towards Smithy, reaching for the lapels on his dinner jacket.

"Stop," Kerry pleaded in a whisper, her anger forgotten as panic took over. If Grant Black saw Smithy and Cameron fighting he could become suspicious, or worse still he could stop trusting them altogether, which would seriously threaten any case against him and his daughter. "Please stop."

"_Dale_ and I need to have a little chat outside, just the two of us." Cameron all but snarled.

"For God's sake!" Kerry turned away from them.

Smithy looked from Cameron to Kerry and back again. "I'll be right back, I want to hear what Cameron has to say."

Kerry waved her hand at him, dismissing him. She had always felt that this investigation; this operation was hers and she had always been prepared to work on it alone. In fact, the altercation between Smithy and Cameron had made her even more determined to put this case to bed, once and for all.


	31. Chapter 31: Devil You Know

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 31: Devil You Know<span>

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate it :) hope you enjoy this chapter. The drama is starting! ;) xx_

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><p>Kerry was furious. She tried to hide it but she knew it must show in the set of her shoulders, her ramrod straight back and in the tension of her facial features. She had come to expect this kind of behaviour from Cameron, he had proved him to be moody and sometimes childish when they had been dating, but Dale had surprised her. She tried to forget about them, moving about the room with a smile fixed firmly on her face. She spoke in a friendly and polite manner to everyone she interacted with, trying to keep up the pretence of naivety that Black seemed to think she possessed. The more trustworthy she seemed, the more likely Black was to trust her, or at least she hoped.<p>

She had seen Jasmine several times but she always seemed to be in the company of someone else, usually Joe. Kerry had noticed that he seemed as out of place as felt, several times she had observed him tugging on his tie or the sleeves of his dinner jacket. She had also noticed the way he looked around with wide eyes every time someone approached Jasmine, and how the fear lifted from his face as soon as he saw that it was not Black.

As for Black, Kerry had not seen hide or hair of him and she wondered if he was saving his big entrance for later in the evening. Maybe he wanted to give her and Smithy time to relax and let their guards down before he pounced.

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><p>Black smirked at the CCTV display which showed Dale Jones and another man of a similar age exchanging what looked like insults and punches. The camera did not have sound but he didn't need to hear what they were saying. It had been obvious to him that they were fighting over Dale's wife Kerry. His smirk had become a grin when he had seen Dale's fist connect with the other man's face, sending him reeling backwards with blood streaming from his nostrils and top lip. Perhaps Dale had more to him than met the eye and that pleased Grant intensely. He certainly seemed to have more guts than Joe Harrison had never demonstrated. If Dale Jones was willing to beat a man bloody for his wife's honour, what else would he do for her?<p>

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><p>Kerry refused to speak to Dale once he returned. His suit was a little rumpled but he showed no other signs of having been in a fight. He was sure that he'd have a shiner on his right eye before too long, though. They put on an outward show of togetherness but beneath the surface Kerry was seething.<p>

Cameron had yet to return from the bathroom, where he had gone to staunch the flow of blood coming from his nostrils. He had gingerly examined his nose and was relieved to find that it wasn't broken. He had locked himself in the disabled cubicle so that he would not be seen by the other guests. He and Dale had probably attracted enough negative attention for one evening. If Meadows found out about the two of them they would be in some seriously hot water, but it was Kerry he was more concerned about. He was sure now that any chance of them getting back together had been shattered. Perhaps, he admitted but only to himself, that she would be better off with Smithy anyway.

When Cameron finally emerged from the bathroom, Joe went over to him immediately.

"Where have you been?"

"Outside for some air," Cameron tried to keep his tone light and playful. "One too many glasses of bubbly, I think."

Joe frowned. "Cam, there's a spot of blood on your shirt…" The other man swiped at the mark but it had already dried onto the fabric. "Is there something I should know?"

"No," Cameron replied. "I just had a nosebleed." It wasn't strictly a lie.

Joe nodded, but he was suspicious still. Could he really trust this man after all? Perhaps it was better to continue his alliance with the Blacks. They could protect him if he continued working for them, and Jasmine would not let Grant kill the father of her baby, would she?

* * *

><p>The party had been going on for almost an hour and a half before Grant Black decided it was time to make his presence known and felt. He had been on the phone with some of his workers, trying to control his operations. If the men who had been arrested by the police gave anything away, he needed to make sure that the information would not lead back to him. It was had left him stressed and frustrated, but he felt that slipping away when he entered the room and everyone's attention became focused on him. Even Jasmine was smiling and clapping with everyone else. He shook hands with his guests, kissed cheeks and asked after spouses and children. He was the perfect host and people flocked around him. Grant absorbed their attention the same way a plant soaked up the sun. It gave him courage and confidence, making him forget about the fact that several of his met could be spilling their guts to the police at this very second.<p>

Grant was chatting amiably with one of his more treasured clients, a smiled fixed on his face when he saw Kerry Jones walking across the room. He watched her leave her empty champagne flute on one of the side tables, making her way towards the restrooms. He continued to nod and smile, but only a quarter of his attention was on the conversation he was having.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he lied after a few moments. "I've just spotted my daughter; I must go and tell her how beautiful she looks."

With murmurs of agreement, another handshake and a kiss to a cheek, Grant excused himself from the conversation. He moved from group to group but did not stop long enough to exchange more than a smile or a polite nod. Finally he had made his way across to the other side of the room and was able to slip out unnoticed.

Kerry flushed the toilet and stepped out of the cubicle, her clutch bag underneath her arm as she washed her hands. She set the bag down on the side of the sink and rifled through it, looking for her lipstick. Applying another coat of the gloss, Kerry checked that her eye make-up wasn't smudged and adjusted the bodice of her dress. Taking a deep breath she exited the bathroom, knowing that she couldn't put off going back in any longer. It was hard to hide how angry and disappointed she was. She badly wanted to confront Smithy about what had happened between him and Cameron but this was neither the time nor the place.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" She apologised, only just stopping herself from crashing into another guest. She wobbled a little on her spiked heels and the other guest reached out for her, holding her tightly by the wrist. At first she had been grateful for the save, but now she felt a hint of panic working its way through her. There was no need for her saviour to have been holding on for so long and certainly now as tightly. She looked up into his face, her features pulled into a glare but her mouth fell open when she realised who it was.

"Good evening, Mrs Jones."

Kerry tried to speak but she didn't seem to be able to find her voice. Still holding her wrist in a bone-crushing grip, Grant Black led Kerry away from the party.


	32. Chapter 32: Don't Scream

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 32: Don't Scream<span>

_Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter! xxx_

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><p>Dale had not protested when Kerry had announced that she needed to use the bathroom. He wasn't really very comfortable being here with all these people by himself, but he had left her there by herself while he had gone outside with Cameron so he couldn't complain. He regretted that now, especially as the knuckles on his right hand were beginning to throb. Cameron had returned to the party ten minutes or so after Dale had come back inside, but they had purposefully ignored each other. Dale hadn't meant to lose his cool with Cameron quite so suddenly or so violently. It was Kerry who should have been angry with Cameron, she had every right to be but it was because of her that Smithy had reacted so badly. He had been there for her through the weeks she had spent sifting through every piece of information she could find about Grant Black and his business operations. She had given up her holiday, her weekends and even her refs breaks to research this case while Cameron had walked into it at the last minute just by chance. If he was in Kerry's position he would be as angry as hell. Unfortunately, she was now taking this anger out on him and he supposed that he couldn't blame her for that. She was pretending to get along with him for the sake of preserving their cover, but he almost would have preferred it if she'd raged at him. He had an inkling that he would be in serious trouble with Kerry when they got home.<p>

When ten minutes had gone by, Smithy was beginning to worry. Kerry may be angry with him, and Cameron, but she wouldn't want to miss any more of the evening than she had to. He assumed that wherever she was, she knew what she was doing. Although Kerry had kept him in the loop all the way through the case, from Kathryn's fatal stabbing to the present day, she still knew the details better than he did. After another ten minutes, Smithy could no longer convince himself that Kerry was alright. He scanned the room, noting that Joe, Cameron and Jasmine were all in attendance but he couldn't spot Grant. He experienced a falling sensation in the pit of his stomach as he made a circuit of the room, but when he turned around again he saw Grant Black chatting with a small knot of people. Smithy frowned, more confused than ever. Should he stay here and pretend that everything was alright or should he go and look for Kerry?

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><p>Kerry felt something akin to vertigo. Her head was spinning, her vision out of focus and she felt like the ground was moving beneath her. It took her a few minutes to realise that she was in a moving vehicle. When she tried to place how she had ended up here, her memories were just shards and fragments. She remembered going to the bathroom and checking her make up; she remembered running into Grant Black in the hallway and how he had gripped her by the wrist but how had she come to be in this vehicle. She assumed she must have been unconscious and she could feel a throbbing pain beginning in her temples. Her high heeled shoes had been removed and the soles of her feet felt numb and cold. She tried to take a deep breath and decipher her surroundings but the urge to panic was welling up inside of her. Even though she had been furious with Smithy not that long ago, she really wished that he was here with her. Kerry's body began to shake, much too cold in her dress and let herself give in to the panic attack, once it passed she would be able to think more clearly.<p>

* * *

><p>Jasmine had noticed that Kerry was missing from the party, too. She didn't think too much of it to begin with, but then she noticed her father's absence. She didn't owe anything to Mrs Jones but she was also aware of what her father was capable of. It would not be beyond Grant Black to use Kerry to his own advantage. If he could manipulate his own daughter, and her boyfriend, then he would have no qualms about making Kerry Jones do something against her will.<p>

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><p>If Black was here, along with Jasmine, Joe and Cameron, then where was Kerry? It was possible that she had uncovered some kind of lead, but would she really go off by herself? The answer seemed obvious to Smithy, especially if she was still mad at him for fighting with Cameron. This would not be the first time that Kerry did something reckless and foolish while working on a case. Looking around to make sure that nobody was watching him; Smithy went out through the doors to where he and Cameron had exchanged blows. It was chilly outside and for the first time that evening, Smithy was glad of his suit jacket. There was no one around outside and the only cars nearby where empty and stationary. He was about to go back inside, hoping that he was just being paranoid and that Kerry would have returned to the party by now. She was probably looking around for him too now.<p>

He stopped when he saw the security light reflecting off something that was lying on the ground. He bent down; trying to see what it was that had caught his attention. He picked it up, his heart beating a rapid tattoo in his chest. In his hands he held Kerry's handbag.

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><p>Although he had been careful to avoid even looking in Dale Jones' direction when he had returned, Grant had noticed when Dale slipped out of the party. He waited a few minutes before taking his mobile phone out of his jacket pocket and typing a short text message. He smiled, picked up a flute of champagne though he would rather have had whiskey, and mingled amongst his guests.<p>

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><p>Kerry searched desperately around the enclosed space for her clutch bag until she remembered that she had tossed it when she had been captured. When she had been bundled into a darkened space by two strong, muscular men she had thrown her bag away to give Dale a clue where she had gone, and that she had not gone voluntarily. It had been an excellent idea at the spur of the moment but now she realised that she was without her mobile phone.<p>

It had taken a while but Kerry realised that she was in a moving vehicle, most likely a transit van. It stopped quite suddenly and nearly knocked Kerry off her feet. She reached for the side of the van, feeling an overwhelming surge of nausea. It was a struggle to keep her champagne and canapés down, but she managed.

The back door of the van was opened and though she tried to back away, the same two men from before took each of her arms and dragged her out. She would have screamed but she knew it would be useless.

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><p>Dale's mind was racing as he paced with Kerry's bag in both of his hands. He should call Meadows but he didn't want to resort to that. It could put Kerry in more danger and it would put an end to the operation too. He knew for a fact that Kerry would not want that to happen. He decided he would go back inside and try to pretend that everything was okay. As he stepped towards the door, he was stopped by a man in a suit.<p>

"Hello Mr Jones, if you want to see your wife alive again, you'll come with me."


	33. Chapter 33: Shiver

**Weapon of Choice**

****_So sorry for taking ages to update! Here's an extra long chapter make up for it! There is some explicit sexual content in this chapter, so don't say I didn't warn you, hehe! Thanks again for all the reviews, as always, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Xxx_

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><p><strong>Chapter 33: Shiver<strong>

Kerry was sat on a wooden chair in a cold warehouse, trying not to shiver. Her hands were tied to the back of the chair by a rope around her wrists. She couldn't even rub her bare arms to bring some warmth back into them. Her long red dress was dirty and tattered at the hem, but she felt grateful that she was even still wearing it. The men she had seen so far were hardly better than savages. There had been no sight or mention of Grant Black, but it wasn't in his nature to do the dirty work. He had minions for that.

She wondered if Smithy was with Black now and if he was okay. She was more worried about him than she was about herself because it was her fault that he had become involved in this operation in the first place. She found herself wondering about Cameron too and whether it was because of him that she was here; that he had made Black suspicious or if he would be the one to save her.

Kerry had been alone in the warehouse for what had seemed like ages, in reality little more than half an hour, when someone else came in. He entered the room from behind Kerry and she felt her muscles bunch and tense more with each step he took towards her.

She didn't see his face but she could feel his fingers ghosting over her hands in an almost intimate gesture. She felt the ropes around her hands slacked and then fall away onto the dusty floor. She didn't understand what was happening, not even when she was finally able to turn and look at him. She didn't recognise him but there was a kindness in his eyes. He helped her to her feet and held her hands in his for a moment. She felt safe with him and though she trusted her gut instincts, she knew better than to let her guard down for even a second.

"You need to leave here, now," He said to her in a local accent, his blue eyes radiating a sense of urgency. He read the puzzled look in her eyes. "It's okay."

"Do you work for Black?" She asked. He nodded, but looked ashamed. "I'm Louis. My cousin Michael's girlfriend was killed by Black's daughter. Even since then I've been using my place in Black's company to find a way to avenge Kathryn."

"Kathryn," The name left Kerry's lips in a whisper. Where had Louis been when she had been researching the case from every angle? He was clearly good at keeping his identity and his position within Black's company a secret, which would make him very useful to her if he proved to be legitimate. "Louis, is there some place we could to meet to talk about Kathryn; about Black; about all of this?"

"And risk being seen with you? No thanks." Louis might want justice for Kathryn and his cousin but he wasn't going to put his life at risk to do it unless he had no other choice. If Louis had known that Kerry was actually an undercover cop, he never would have spoken to her at all.

"Please Louis, you can trust me."

He sighed, and had a quick internal debate with himself.

"Do you know The Shack on Brown Street?" Kerry didn't, but she nodded anyway. "I'll meet you there tomorrow night at ten o'clock. Don't bring anyone with you, and if you tell Black or anyone else, I will kill you, Kerry." He pulled open his jacket to show her the knife stashed there/

"Okay," She agreed with a nod.

"Now, let's get you out of here."

* * *

><p>Smithy followed the man back inside the building but they walked right by the welcoming warmth and chatter of the party. He wasn't able to see if Black, Jasmine, Joe or Cameron were still inside. Adrenalin pulsed through his veins as his mind conjured up all sorts of hellish scenarios involving Kerry.<p>

This, right now, was exactly what he had feared ever since the very beginning of the operation. He did not know what he would do if something happened to her. Damn it, he loved her, and he had never told her for all sorts of reasons that seemed ridiculous to him now.

The man in the suit was unknown to Smithy but his manner suggested that he was higher up in Black's company than the kind of men who worked at the dockyards.

"Where are you taking me?" Smithy asked, the aggressiveness of his tone masking his blind terror.

"That's none of your concern, Mr Jones." Came the reply in a clipped voice.

""It _is_ my concern. This is my wife we're talking about."

He chuckled but did not reply to Smithy.

They exited the building by the front entrance this time and the man indicated a shiny navy blue Jeep. Smithy was guided into the backseat but not before he was forced to hand over Kerry's clutch bag and his own mobile phone. He noticed that the windows were blacked out. He wished he had time to let someone know what was going on with him and Kerry, even if it had meant talking to Cameron again but getting to Kerry was his priority now.

They drove for quite a while, with nicer properties giving way to rougher neighbourhoods until they came to a mostly industrial area.

"Wait here," The man said, but did not lock the doors of the Jeep when he got out.

Smithy tried to look out at the area but it was poorly lit and the tinted windows didn't really help matters. He was sure he'd seen a flash of red though, but his eyes must have been fooling him. The he saw it again, the street light catching the fabric of her dress. Smithy pushed open the car door, nearly falling out in his haste to get to her.

He wanted to shout out her name but he didn't want to alert anyone else to their presence. If they didn't do this exactly right, they might not make it out of here alive. He didn't want to spook Kerry by creeping up on her, but he saw little other choice.

"Kerry, it's me, Dale." He said when he was only two or three feet behind her.

She jumped and spun around but her fear melted away when she saw it really was him, and threw herself into his arms. He caught her and held her, not wanting to let go but knowing that they couldn't afford to stay here another moment longer.

"We need to go," He said, loosening his hold and taking her hand instead.

She nodded, but trying to keep up with his strides in her long dress and bare feet was not easy.

Once they were back on a reasonably well lit street, Smithy took off his jacket and slipped it over Kerry's shivering shoulders. She smiled gratefully and pulled the jacket tightly around her.

Although Black's man had made Smithy surrender Kerry's handbag and his own mobile phone, he still had his wallet and the house keys in his pocket.

It was too late to knock on anyone's door and ask to use their phone, so they kept walking hoping to find a taxi somewhere. They finally emerged into a high street and spotted a row of three cabs waiting outside the nightclub. The first two were waiting for customers inside the club but the third one was just trawling for business.

They climbed gratefully into the warm car and Smithy gave the driver their address. He and Kerry sat in the back seat, the tension between them taking up every inch of spare space. There was so much that he needed to say to her, but not while the driver could hear them; not until they were home and safe.

* * *

><p>Smithy was forced to part with almost all of the cash in his wallet to pay the fare, but it was still better than any of the alternative ways of getting home. They were a little concerned that some of Black's men might be at their house when they returned but all was quiet when they walked up the path to the front door.<p>

Apart from fear of an ambush, the case was the furthest thing from their minds as they crossed the threshold into the house which now seemed like home to both of them.

"Are you okay?" He asked, taking the jacket from Kerry's shoulders and examining her skin for damage. Other than the slight pink circle on her wrists from the rope and the dirt and cuts on her feet, she seemed to be in one piece.

"I'm fine," she said. "Honestly. A bit shaken up, but I'm alright."

"I was so worried Ker, when I came outside and saw your bag on the ground…" He tailed off with a shudder.

"I'm fine," She assured him, putting her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. His arms went around her almost automatically, holding her tightly against his body. She could hear his heart beating loudly and rapidly, and it echoed the pace of her own heart.

His arms loosened from around her and he took her face in his hands, bringing their lips together for a kiss that started tenderly but soon escalated in heat and passion. Kerry's hands ran through his hair and his roamed up and down her body, over the silky material of her dress. When his hands reached her breasts, Kerry moaned into Smithy's mouth as both of them acknowledged that there was no turning back now.

She reached for the buttons of his shirt, her fingers trembling as she undid them. One button came loose, skittering across the hall floor. They looked at each other and then they laughed. Seized by another bolt of passion, they kissed again fiercely. Smithy reached for the zipper on the back of Kerry's dress and tugged on it until it fell to a red pool at her feet. She shivered with a mixture of desire and the sudden cool air on her flushed skin.

Smithy pulled her to him again, flattening her body against his as their lips met again and their tongues danced together. He lifted Kerry's legs so that they wrapped around his waist and carried her upstairs like that.

When they reached the bedroom he set her down on the bed and took off his trousers, shoes and socks. With the hint of a smirk, he left Kerry on the bed and crossed the room to where the surveillance camera had been installed and threw his discarded trousers over it. No one was going invade this private moment between them.

She gazed at him lustfully as he lowered his body over hers on the bed. He kissed her forehead, her cheek, her lips then moved lower to plant feather-like kisses on her collarbone, her throat and the along her neck. He pulled open the front clasp on her bra to free her breasts, and she tangled her fingers in his hair again as he lowered his mouth to kiss them.

Kerry could feel Smithy's hard length against her leg and she reached to tug at his underwear, slipping her hand under the elasticated waistband. He moaned, temporarily abandoning his exploration of her upper body when her hand closed over him, rubbing his shaft in delicious, slow movements. He knew he couldn't wait much longer.

Shifting his weight, Smithy removed his boxers and pulled off Kerry's thong, removing the final barrier between them. With his hands either side of her head, Smithy began to push into her warm wet entrance, feeling her walls resist him before slowly allowing him access. He thrust in and out slowly, pushing all the way in until he was buried so deep in her that they were almost one entity.

Kerry reached for him, anchoring them together as he continued to thrust. He lowered his head to flick his tongue along her nipple and the combination of sensations sent Kerry flying into her climax. Her muscles clenched and her eyes flickered shut as he release washed over her. Smithy watched her, thinking that she had never seemed more beautiful to him.

He moved his hands so that he could hold her hips as he began to thrust quickly and harder, spurred on by Kerry's little moans and cries of ecstasy. He reached between them, rubbing the bundle of nerves until he felt that Kerry's second orgasm was imminent. He continued to rub his thumb over her in small circles as he thrust deeply once, twice, three more times and came apart as his own orgasm claimed him. He felt Kerry tighten around him against between them both collapsed sweaty, exhausted and sated onto the sheets.


	34. Chapter 34: Rolling in the Deep

**Weapon of Choice**

****_Thanks for the reviews! I'm supposed to be working on some coursework, but writing this chapter was much more enjoyable! I'll try and update again before Christmas, hope you enjoy this chapter! xxx_

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><p><strong>Chapter 34: Rolling in the Deep<strong>

They both dozed after that, but woke up on and off all through the night to make love again and again. They rolled in the sheets until Kerry was on top, pinning Smithy down beneath her. She placed kisses over his chest and stomach until she reached the trail of hair leading downwards. She grinned at him as she slowly lowered herself onto him, pushing down until she took his full length inside of her. She began to move her hips slowly in a rocking motion that made her hair and breasts sway. Smithy was entranced by her beauty as he placed his hands on her hips to give her more speed. She covered his hands with her own and they rocked together until they came apart in a flurry of sensations. They fell asleep once more with Smithy still inside her and Kerry's head on his chest. They knew that in the morning they would have a lot to talk about but for now they wanted to enjoy the night; wanted to enjoy each other.

Dawn was breaking outside their bedroom window when Kerry and Smithy properly awoke. He kissed her softly, then when downstairs to make a cup of coffee for him and tea for her. When he returned to the bedroom, Kerry was sitting up in bed, wearing one of his white cotton t-shirts. He set their mugs down on their bedside tables and climbed back into bed with her. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head against him. It was hard to believe that last night had been real. It was like something out of a crime thriller film and nothing like real life. Flashes of their love making came back to him too, and that was even harder to accept as reality. That first time when they had shared shower sex had been incredible but nothing compared to last night. He hoped that Kerry felt the same way. He supposed that the only way to find out would be to ask her.

"Last night, Kerry, that was pretty…"

"Awesome?" She finished for him, with a flash of that smile he loved so much.

"Yes," He said. She took his hand and twined her fingers through his.

"I know it's not a good time, but we should talk about the case."

Smithy agreed, though nothing was more important to him that her just now.

"I have been meaning to ask how you ended up at the site where I found you."

"It's a long story," She began telling him of her abduction from the party and her rescue by Louis. She waited for his response and his own turn of events before telling him of her arranged meeting with Louis.

"Do you think he's legitimate?" Smithy asked. "We could phone Kathryn's parents to check if they know whether Michael has a cousin named Louis?"

Kerry shook her head. "No, I don't want to bother them unduly."

"What do you think that Black's next move will be?"

Kerry shivered a little, not wanting a repeat of the previous night in the warehouse.

"He must be angry or frustrated or he might just have given up on us. I hate to say it, but Cameron might be our only way of getting close to Black, but we need to learn what Louis knows first."

Both of them knew that they must speak with Meadows soon but tried to put it off for as long as possible.

Smithy ran them a deep bath in the master bathroom and they slipped gratefully into the silky, hot water. It helped to relax Kerry's aching muscles and her sore, bruised feet. They led out in the water, the deep tub just big enough for both of them to spread out and they exchanged lazy kisses and caresses until their skin began to wrinkle like prunes.

They dried off in fluffy white towels, dressed and made breakfast before finally making contact with Meadows. Kerry begged Smithy not to mention Louis in any way until after the meeting, and he agreed with a little reluctance.

Meadows was shocked at the turn the night's events had taken but relieved that both his officers were alright, especially as Cameron had reported in just a few minutes before them. He told them to keep him apprised as always and signed off leaving Kerry and Smithy with the rest of the day ahead of them.

Since neither of them had their mobile phones anymore, Smithy walked into town to pick up new disposable ones and portions of fish and chips for their lunch.

Kerry took the time he was gone to wash her hair but she missed him now that he wasn't there, even if he was gone less than an hour. The solitude allowed her doubts and fears to rise to the surface again. Was last night about love, about their mutual physical attraction or because of the trauma they had both endured that evening? Or maybe it had been a combination of all three? She was relieved when he came back home, and when they ate lunch together in the kitchen they felt like a normal couple.

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><p>They wiled away the afternoon and early evening by watching movies in the living room, bodies close together and limbs entwined on the sofa. At eight o'clock, Smithy asked if she wanted any dinner but Kerry shook her head. Now that the time for her meeting with Louis was close she had very little appetite. She was nervous about meeting with him in case he had lied to her and he had really been laying a trap for her, but she was more anxious about having to finally tell Smithy that he couldn't go with her. She had kept that detail from him because she knew that it would not make him happy. Louis had insisted that she come alone, and she had been so worried about getting out of the warehouse without being spotted that she had not had time to ask if she could bring her husband along. Smithy would hate her going alone, he might not even let her and if Louis saw her with someone he might back out of their arrangement.<p>

While Smithy made himself some sandwiches in the kitchen, Kerry went upstairs to change. After last night's events she made sure to dress more sensibly, opting for jeans, a black t-shirt and a brown leather jacket with sensible boots rather than a dress and heels. She didn't think any harm would come to her tonight, but she knew it was always best to be prepared. She didn't bother with a handbag tonight, but put her house keys, new mobile phone and a handful of notes and coins into her jacket pockets.

Brown Street was quite a long walk away so she wanted to leave in plenty of time. She definitely did not want Louis to think that she had stood him up.

"You look nice." Smithy complimented when she came back downstairs, pulling her blonde hair up into a ponytail. "I'll just finish this sandwich and we can go."

"Um, Dale, about that…" She began uncomfortable. "Louis wants to meet me alone. He told me not to bring anyone at all."

"But I'm your husband." He frowned. "At least as far as he knows."

"I didn't get time to tell him that I was married, not when I was in fear of my life!"

"Kerry, you were abducted last night. God knows what would have happened to you. You can't expect me to let you walk out of here on your own again, to meet a criminal!"

"Louis isn't a bad guy. Why did he set me free last night only to try something tonight?"

"I'm coming with you Kerry. You can meet Louis by yourself if you have to, but I'm walking with you to the bar."

Kerry shook her head. "No, he might be watching for me to arrive and if he sees us together, he might bolt."

"This isn't up for discussion, Kerry, I'm coming with you."

"No. No, you're not. We had sex Dale, you're not my keeper and in case you forgot, you're not actually my husband!"

She regretted the words as soon as they were out, especially when she saw the hurt expression flicker across Smithy's features.

He stood up, his sandwich forgotten and strode over to her, closing the distance between them. "I love you, okay. I love you Kerry, and I want to protect you and I don't want any harm to come you, alright?"

"I'm sorry," She said, kissing cheek before turning away from him and almost running from the house before he had time to react.

When he heard the front door slam closed after her, he sighed. He knew how much this case meant to her, so why was he surprised that once again she was choosing to risk her life for it? Maybe because he had thought that she loved him too.

He was taking his plate into the kitchen, his appetite now evaporated when he phone vibrated in his hip pocket. He pulled it out and saw he had a text message; a text message from Kerry. The message only contained three words, but they were ones he couldn't wait to hear from her own lips.


	35. Chapter 35: Too Much

**Weapon of Choice**

_Hi. Thanks so much for your reviews, it means a lot! This will probably be my last update for a little while because of Christmas and exams coming up but we are slowly approaching the end of the story. There will be a sequel though! Hope you enjoy this chapter and have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful start to 2013! xxx_

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><p><strong>Chapter 35: Too Much<strong>

Kerry felt nervous as she waited for a car to pass, quickly crossing the street and wrapping her arms tightly around her body. She wished that Smithy was with her, just for the moral support and because she knew for a fact that being a young woman out and about alone in the dark was foolish. She had been so determined to get to the meeting with Louis that she had not stopped to consider any of the other dangers she may face. She understood now why Smithy had been so angry with her when he realised that she was planning to go out alone tonight. She had never expected the reaction she had provoked, though. He loved her; he was in love with her. It was almost too much to take in. He was so much different to all of the other men she had dated; he wasn't selfish and childish like Cameron and Luke had been. The knowledge that he loved her filled her with warmth but after walking a few more streets towards The Shack bar she was chilled and afraid. She knew that telling Smithy she loved him too by text message was hardly the best way to let him know, but she needed to tell him somehow.

Kerry turned into Brown Street and walked passed a small supermarket and a Chinese takeaway before she saw The Shack in front of her. It was not what she had been expecting. She had though it would be a modern bar with loud music and alcoves for more private conversations, but it was a remodelled old pub. Ignoring the looks she received from the punters smoking outside the bar, she went inside and walked straight up to the bar. She ordered an Alco-pop at the bar, wanting to have her wits about her when she talked to Louis or, if this turned out to be a trap, she wanted to have the sense to be able to get out of it. She didn't want to make it obvious that she was looking for Louis either, so she climbed onto one of the bar stools and sipped her drink.

Kerry had been sitting at the bar for about five minutes, occasionally looking around, when Louis approached her. She hadn't noticed him until he was just behind her; it was as if he had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Come upstairs with me," Louis said, to which Kerry narrowed her eyes. She picked up her almost empty bottled and followed him.

Upstairs wasn't what Kerry expected either, as Louis led her into a well-lit wooden attic space with a well-used brown leather sofa and bean bags on the floor.

"Do you own this place?" Kerry asked, looking around.

Louis laughed a low infectious rumble. "No, Black owns this place. I'm the manager and I live up here, my rent is taken out of my wages."

Kerry fought not to roll her eyes; she should have known that this bar would belong to Black. Although Louis seemed to be being both genuine and friendly, she was worried once more than this might be a trap. Even if it wasn't, it was not impossible that Black or someone else who worked for him would be there tonight.

"Are you really Michael's cousin, or did you just say that to lure me here?" Louis had taken a seat but Kerry remained standing.

He smiled. "Kerry, may I call you Kerry?" She nodded. "How would I know the details about Kathryn's death otherwise? Some of it was in the local news, but Michael was only ever mentioned briefly."

Kerry sighed, sinking down onto one of the surprisingly comfortable beanbags. Louis had a point. She wanted to trust him, she really did, but Louis finding and freeing her last night seemed too good to be true. She had been a police officer too long now to believe in coincidences of that sort.

"…And as for luring you here?" He continued. "I could have let Black do whatever he wished to you last night, I didn't need to intervene. Why would I have freed you from that warehouse, just to try and capture you again? Please, Kerry," He said, looking earnestly into her eyes. "You can trust me, I promise."

Damn it, Kerry though, he was convincing. She did want to trust him, but she was still wary.

"Now, I have some questions for you, Kerry."

She nodded, knowing that she may have to reveal that she was an undercover office and that it was more than likely that Louis would react badly to that.

"How did you become involved with Grant Black?"

"My husband, Dale and I, we just started teaching at the same school Jasmine, Kathryn and Michael went to. He works in the PE department, doing football training mostly and I'm Joe Harrison's teaching assistant in the English department."

Louis considered this, stroking at the stubble on his chin. He knew most of what Kerry was telling him already, but there were pieces of the puzzle missing, he was sure of it.

"You know that Joe is working with Black, right?"

Kerry nodded. "And he's sleeping with Jasmine."

Louis' eyebrows rose subtly at this, but other than that he showed no sign of surprise. He had wondered why someone like Joe had become involved with Black; he seemed too nice and clean cut, now it made perfect sense. It seemed that Jasmine could manipulate almost anybody to do her bidding. Like father, like daughter he thought.

"How did you get involved with Black, then? He seems very interested in you."

Kerry chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm interested in him, too."

This time, Louis' sandy coloured eyebrows shot so high that they all but disappeared into his hair. "Interested in him how?"

"Let's just say, it's a personal interest. It's also an interest we have in common – Kathryn Walker."

"You knew her?"

"Yes," It wasn't a lie, she had known Kathryn briefly.

"It seems odd coincidence that you would start working at the same school that Kathryn went to, a term after she was killed." Louis' gaze was penetrating and it took a lot of effort for Kerry not to look away. It was as if he could see that she wasn't being completely honest with him.

Suddenly Louis stood up, nearly knocking his chair over with the intensity of his movement. Kerry instinctively sank back into her own seat.

"Perhaps I can't trust you after all Kerry, if that even is your name."

"It is," She replied. "And you can trust me, I promise."

"How do I know you're not working for Black and trying to trick me?"

"I could say the same about you, Louis."

"But you already know that I work for Black."

Kerry sighed. "Sit down Louis, there are a few things I haven't been telling you."

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><p>The evening dragged by for Smithy, who was unable to think of nothing but Kerry and what might be happening to her. He knew she had her phone with her, but after being forced to give up his mobile the previous night he knew this meant next to nothing. He couldn't believe that Kerry had managed to talk him into keeping her rescue and tonight's meeting with Louis a secret from Meadows. He knew it was partly because his feelings for her had clouded his judgement, but also because he trusted her and her instincts, too. He just wished he had been able to go along with her tonight. The case was the most important to thing to Kerry but nothing meant more to him than she did.<p>

Knowing that she would probably never forgive him for it, Smithy put on his coat and shoes, and went out into the night.

* * *

><p>Jasmine Black fingered the bruises and cuts on her face, wincing at the contact. She knew that, in comparison to Joe, she must have got off relatively lightly. She had never seen her father so very angry and for the first time she had been really, truly afraid of him. From a young age Jasmine had known that her father was capable of things that none of her school friends' dads would ever have done but she had never believed that he would do any serious harm to her. Grant had loved her mother more than life itself and when Isabelle had passed away he had been inconsolable for a long time, the only thing capable of bringing him comfort was Jasmine. It had been that way for a long time, and Jasmine had often used it to her advantage to get her own way, but Grant had used her too. She hadn't realised until now how many of things he had asked of her she had done out of fear.<p>

Jasmine felt sick to her stomach and wished she could see Joe but knew it was probably for the best if they stayed apart. Her hands ghosted over her flat stomach, and once again she was glad that she was not pregnant but this time her relief was for a different, less selfish reason.

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><p>"I thought I could bloody well trust you," Grant Black's face hovered mere inches from Joe's, who tried to shrink away from him. "You're my daughter's teacher, you defile her and then you can't even show any gratitude to me for sparing your miserable life. I asked you to do simple things for me Joe; I thought you could be trusted to carry them out."<p>

"I'm sorry." Joe replied, his voice sounding weak even to his own ears.

"Sorry?" Grant spat. "You'll have to do better than that if you ever want to see my daughter again."

At that moment, Joe really didn't want to see Jasmine ever again anyway, only to make sure that she was alright and that Grant hadn't hurt her. He was relieved that they had never told Grant about Jasmine's pregnancy, but then it occurred to him that this might explain why Black was reacting so badly to Kerry's escape and blaming him for it.

"I promise I'll support Jasmine in any way that I can, Grant. I've got some money saved up and I'm prepared to stand by her, if that's what she wants. It has to be her decision, but I swear I'll do my part."

It was rare that Grant Black was ever caught off guard, but now he found it happening for the third time in as many days. "What the hell are you talking about Harrison?" Joe realised his error a moment too late. "Are you trying to tell me that you've got my teenage daughter pregnant?"

The blow came so suddenly that Joe didn't have time to move to lessen the force. He felt his head swing back and a pounding pain begin in his left temple.

Grant nodded to one of his men who were standing outside the door. "Don't take your eye off him for a second." He said to the man, and then turned back to Joe. "I'll be back to deal with you later." Grant needed to see his daughter first.


	36. Chapter 36: The Sense of an Ending

**Weapon of Choice**  
><strong><span>Chapter 36: The Sense of an Ending<span>**

_Sorry that it has been FOREVER since I last updated! I wrote the opening part of this chapter weeks ago but I've been sick recently so I've had some time to think about this story and finally got some more writing done. We're almost at the end. I was hoping to wrap it up this chapter, but I didn't want to make it too long. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and stuck around for this story, which has become a monster and taken on a life of its own. I never would've gotten this far with it if it wasn't for you! Anyway, hope you enjoy! xxx_

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><p>The bar began to empty, patrons paying their bills and putting on their coats. Smithy remained, nursing a beer and refusing to leave until he saw Kerry again. He had been sitting in the bar for almost an hour when he became aware that he was now the only customer. The bartender who had served him remained, as did a girl in her late teens who was washing and drying glasses, but neither of them paid him any attention. It seemed odd to Smithy that the bar should be so empty at this time on a Saturday night but supposed that the other customers had moved on to clubs instead.<p>

He wondered how long he should wait before he began really, legitimately worried about Kerry. He knew that trusting Louis was a mistake; he could feel it. The only sounds in the bar now were the clinking of glasses as the barmaid set them down on the draining board and the bartender counting up the takings. Music played but it was barely audible in the background, so when the door opened it caught Smithy's attention immediately. He looked up from his nearly empty glass with curiosity, his expression turning into one of shock when he saw who had entered. It could not be a coincidence that Black had just walked into this bar.

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><p>Headlights and the sound of a car engine outside drew Louis towards the window. He didn't know what made him aware, but he felt a sense of apprehension. Kerry had followed his progress to the window with her eyes, but when a curse dropped from his lips, she got up to join him. A sleek black car had pulled up outside, paying no heed to the double yellow lines parked in the road, It was not the car itself that had provoked this response from Louis, it was the man climbing out of the passenger seat; Grant Black.<p>

"You'd better stay up here," Louis said, pushing her away from the window.

Kerry agreed, she was not yet ready for another encounter with the man. It was then that her mobile phone vibrated in her hip pocket. The only person who knew this number was Smithy. She read the text message he had sent her, and even in the dim lighting of the room, Louis could read the horror in Kerry's expression.

"What's wrong?"

"My husband; he's downstairs."

Before Louis could stop her, Kerry was running down the steps and back into the bar.

* * *

><p>Smithy tried to turn away and covertly type another text message to Kerry, but before he could compose it he saw her coming down the steps that joined the bar and the rooms above. He wanted to rush to her and hug her, but there was too much going on. Not only had Grant entered the bar, he had Jasmine and Joe with him too.<p>

Kerry tried to make eye contact with Joe, but he refused to even look in her direction. He seemed to have chosen his side, even after Cameron's attempts to help him to do the right thing. Kerry was disappointed but not really surprised. She moved to stand beside Smithy, taking his hand and holding it tightly. She felt him squeeze back and she knew they would be okay as long as they were together. Grant Black could torture them; could even kill them but there was nothing he could do that would destroy the love they shared.

Louis had remained upstairs and she was glad for that. Even if the current situation was evidence to the contrary, she did not believe him to be involved. He had saved her once, now it was her turn to do the same.

"Nice to see you both," Grant picked up the glass of whiskey that had been placed before him on the bar without his needing to even place an order. "Mr and Mrs Jones," He sipped his drink, the ice cubes rattling together in the glass. "But, you're not really married, are you? And those aren't your real names, are they?" He didn't wait for them to speak, and anyway his questions had been rhetorical. "It seems that this one," He indicated Joe. "Is useful for more than just screwing my teenage daughter," Grant clapped the younger man on the shoulder in an almost friendly manner. "He told me all about his new friend Cameron and how he was a police officer, offering Joey a way out. I did a little digging, and you know what? There aren't very many coppers in London called Cameron, even less of them are Australian. I think you can probably guess what else I learned."

"Tell me one thing," Kerry was pleased to find her voice steadier than she had expected. Her gaze moved from Black to his daughter. "Who killed Kathryn Walker?"

Jasmine smiled briefly. "I think you know the answer to that; I think you've always known."

"But why, Jasmine?"

"She knew," She looked at Joe with something close to fondness. "She knew about us and she threatened to go to the Headmaster. I couldn't let her do that. It was supposed to be a warning, she wasn't supposed to die." Jasmine shrugged it off, as if this part was Kathryn's fault not her own.

Kerry was far more shocked that Jasmine had committed such an act of violence to protect Joe rather than the fact that she had caused the death of another teenage girl.

"For Joe?"

She paused a moment before replying. "If it makes you happier to believe, then yes, I did it for Joe."

Kerry tried to make eye contact with Joe again, but this time he was smiling at Jasmine. Poor deluded fool, Kerry thought, realising not for the first time that there were some people who just did not want to be helped. Feeling sick to her stomach, Kerry reached for Smithy's hand again. She hoped they would both cheat death just one more time, so that they would finally be able to give Kathryn's grieving parents at least some sense of closure.


	37. Chapter 37: Back to Life

Weapon of Choice  
><span>Chapter 37 – Back to Life<span>

_Okay, I lied. This still isn't the last chapter! The next one will very most likely be the finale though! Hope you like it. Xx_

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><p>Kerry Young awoke to sunlight streaming through the cracks in the bedroom blinds. She was in her own bed, in her own flat, alone. It had been nearly two weeks since the standoff with the Blacks and Joe at The Shack. The final adrenalin surge had long worn off and she had spent the majority of the past fortnight feeling listless and depressed. For so long she had lived and breathed the case that now it was over, she was lost.<p>

It would have been easier with Smithy; it was always easier with him but messier too. She had barely seen or spoken to him since they had returned to their ordinary lives. Together they had met with Laura and John Walker who were grateful for all that Kerry and Dale had sacrificed and risked in order to find some kind of justice for their daughter Kathryn. It felt like a hollow victory to Kerry though, there would be no happy ever after for the Walkers. The final moments of Kathryn's life were still etched into Kerry's memory.

She wished that she could get back to work; she would take having her shoes puked on by a drunken trap over sitting at home. She had lived alone for a long while before the operation; she and Cameron had not been serious enough about their relationship to have lived together. She missed sharing a home with someone else though even if it did mean that she now had her privacy back. She even missed the school where she and Smithy had taught. Although Joe, oh god Joe, had been less of a man than Kerry had hoped he'd be, assisting him in the English department had rekindled her love of literature.

Kerry flopped back against the pillows, trying not to think about Joe Harrison too much. It was all too easy to blame herself for what had happened. They had used him, manipulated him to get even closer to the Blacks. She had to remind herself that they had offered him a way out but he had chosen Jasmine instead. If anyone could be blamed for Joe's death, it was Jasmine. Her fictional pregnancy was what had ensured Joe's loyalty to Jasmine and her father.

Part of her felt sorry for Jasmine who had so desperately wanted to be loved, but had never been taught what it really meant. Grant had never showed and Kerry feared that it might be too late now. Joe might have been good for her, but there had always been too much darkness and pain and too many obstacles between them and happiness.

Kerry hoped that her and Smithy's fate would be better. Could they succeed as a couple now that their lives were back to how they had been before the undercover operation had turned everything upside down? She loved him and she believed that he loved her too, but that didn't mean that their relationship would survive. She couldn't wait to finally talk to him properly; to feel his arms around her and to make love with him again. It wouldn't be too much longer now, but the waiting was unbearable.

When they had first been debriefed, Meadows and the top brass had forbade the two officers from seeing each other outside of the station until decisions had been made about how to proceed with taking the case to court. Many charges were being brought against Black and his daughter, and debates continued between the CPS lawyers and the Blacks' defence team. It was a major bust for the Metropolitan police to topple a kingpin like Grant and the powers that be wanted nothing to case a single shadow of doubt in court. As much as she wanted; needed to see Dale, she would not risk months of work, blood, sweat and tears just to be with him.

* * *

><p>Kerry spent that afternoon with Honey who was on the nightshift that week. It was a relief to be in the company of a friend again. She had missed Honey, Yvonne and Andrea while she had been undercover and they'd been filling her in on the all the station gossip that she had missed out on. She was relieved that she hadn't had to encounter Cameron on the occasions that she had been at the station to be debriefed or interviewed. His testimony was important too, and although initially Kerry had been annoyed when he'd become involved in the operation, in hindsight she was glad of it.<p>

When Cameron had realised that Joe would choose Jasmine Black over his own freedom, he had been worried that the teacher would tell Black about their conversations. It was Cameron who had called for officers to go to The Shack as back up on that Saturday night. When he had entered the bar himself first, he had tried to convince the three of them, Grant, Jasmine and Joe, to turn themselves in. With Smithy and Kerry's aid, he had made some progress with Joe and Jasmine, who were more impressionable and fearful than Grant, but when Black had heard a siren outside in the street, he had fired the small pistol he liked to carry inside his jacket pocket at his daughter's lover. It may have been a small ornate weapon but it was still deadly.

When the police had arrived at the scene, Jasmine had been on her knees beside Joe while a pool of blood formed around his body. There was a look of satisfaction on Grant's face and it was still present when he was taken away in handcuffs. Grant Black had always planned to kill the man who was screwing his young daughter; it had just been a matter of when.

In the end Cameron may have been invaluable to the operation, but that didn't mean that Kerry had to like the fact. Even if things didn't work out for her and Smithy, she knew that she was now completely over Cameron Tait.

"Ooh, this is nice!" Honey said, her voice bringing Kerry back to the present moment. She frowned at the dress that Honey was holding up.

"You should buy it, Hon."

Honey shook her head. "No for you, stupid."

"I don't think so," She turned away, pretending to examine a display of shoes. The dress that honey had picked out was the cocktail version of the long red gown that Kerry had worn the night of Black's party, when she had been abducted but then rescued by Louis. The same night that she and Smithy had made crazy, passionate love all night long. It had been one of the worst nights of her live, but maybe one of the best, too. She turned back to Honey who was still looking at the dresses. "To hell with it," She said. "I'm going to buy it."

Honey smiled as she watched Kerry pick her size from the rail, pleased to find her friend re-emerging.

"Smithy will love it," She winked, making Kerry blush. Before she could protest, Honey dragged her off to the lingerie section of the shop. She began to feel the depression slip away as she and Honey giggled, shopped and treated themselves to cake in a café.

* * *

><p>That evening she put away her new purchases and fell asleep more quickly than she had in a long time. She slept in late too, waking up at eleven o'clock when the phone beside her bed began to ring. It was Meadows calling her into the station.<p>

She showered quickly and was at the police station in less than an hour, greeted warmly by her colleagues. They were proud of the way she had helped take Black and his men off the streets. No doubt someone new would be along to replace him, but they had been working so hard for so long to get at Black that it was time for a little celebration.

She made her way to the staircase that led up to CID when Smithy came out of one of the doors leading off the corridor. She couldn't hold back her smile when she saw him and it was hard not to throw herself into his arms. He smiled back at her, love adding a warmth to his green eyes.

"Are you going up to see Meadows?" When Kerry nodded, he added. "Me too."

He slipped his hand around hers and they held onto each other as they made their way up the steps. They didn't let go until they were standing outside of Meadows' office.


End file.
